Broken Messiah
by Laur Jeevas
Summary: When Mello left Wammy's he left his two best friends behind. After four years of searching, they find him again and are unwillingly dragged into the Kira case, their lives on the line...
1. Murder

Carys' eyes were downcast as she walked along the wet, cracked pavement that night. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and music from Japan's Visual Kei movement blasted in her ears. She immediately recognized it as 'OBSCURE' by Dir En Grey and shuddered. The video for the aforementioned song had given her nightmares for weeks. Carys skipped the song, and smiled as the next began to play. She looked up and a sudden breeze whipped some of her long, dark brown hair into her eyes. She shook it out of her face and chewed her lip thoughtfully as her fingers brushed against the cold steel of the pistol in her pocket. Her lips suddenly curled into an evil smirk as she grasped the weapon in her hand. Her hazel eyes were glued on a plump, motherly looking woman, and the eighteen year old couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Picking up her pace, Carys quickly caught up with the woman, and was right against her. She'd planned this well. They were the only people in the cold, dark street, and she'd timed it all oh so perfectly.

"Bethany Williams?" Carys hissed viciously into the woman's ear. The woman froze and nodded "Well, well, well..."

"W-who are you!?" Bethany's voice shook with fear, and Carys simply laughed sinisterly.

"My name is Carys Marie Williams..." she smirked "I'm your daughter."

Bethany stiffened "Y-you can't be!"

"Oh, but I am." Carys' voice was as icy as the cold winter wind that whipped around their faces, and Carys began to pull the gun from her pocket.

But something stopped her. A little voice in her head stopped her, telling her that it would be wrong to murder this woman.

She simply shrugged the nagging voice off, and brought the gun into the cold night air, pressing it to the woman's head. She felt nothing as she placed her finger on the trigger, snarling towards Bethany.

"This is what you deserve, you bitch." she growled, the ferociousness of her voice causing Bethany to tremble with fear "You ditched me at some...orphange fourteen fucking years ago, pretended you found me on the damn streets and walked away, not feeling an ounce of guilt. Don't even _try_ and pretend that it isn't true, because, Bethany, you and I both know it's the damn truth. And this is what you deserve. You deserve to die."

"Carys, please!" Bethany pleaded with her daughter "You don't understand!"

"What don't I understand, _mother_!?" Carys spat, glaring at the woman "You left me! I thought mothers were supposed to care for their children?"

"Carys, please!" Tears were streaming down Bethany's cheeks, as she fell to her knees, almost begging her daughter not to kill her "I had to do it! You don't know what your father would have done if I hadn't! You were never supposed to have hap-"

"Save it!" Carys snapped, pushing her to the ground, stepping on her chest, and aiming the pistol between Bethany's eyes.

Bethany looked up, her deep green eyes wide and fearful. When Carys laughed that evil, evil laugh, Bethany Louise Williams knew she was done for.

The laugh turned into a smirk, as Carys pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot caused a few dogs to bark nearby, and lights to go on in houses. Carys simply smiled down at her victim and wiped some blood from her boots, before turning on her heel and walking away, laughing to herself as she tucked the gun in her pocket. In her eyes, the woman had gotten what she deserved.  
In the distance, she could hear sirens becoming closer, and she snickered to herself, now walking briskly towards a battered old red car, where someone was waiting on her. When she reached the car, she pulled the door open and smiled at the driver, before pulling out her bloodstained pistol.

"Well?" he asked, taking a drag of his cigarette and looking at her from behind orange tinted goggles.

"She's dead." Carys smiled, wiping the blood from her weapon and placing it back in her pocket "Wanna get out of here?"

He nodded and smiled at her, before starting up the battered car, and driving out of the town of Aberdare, as if nothing had happened.


	2. Mello

It had amazed Carys that she'd actually killed her birth mother. Adrenalin coursed through her veins, and she grinned at her partner, almost manically.

"You're insane, babe," he'd said, laughing "Ah, but fuck, I love you for it."

Carys turned to the redhead, kissed his cheek and smiled "Insanity comes with the Wammy's orphan tag, Matt."

"I know, I know," Matt grinned, turning into a long driveway. They'd been driving for at least four hours, Matt defying every speed limit he could as he drove.

Finally, they were back at their little cottage, in Wonston, near Winchester, the place where they'd met.

"Damn, finally," Carys yawned, getting out of the car as Matt parked up, closing the door after her and pulling out her keys as Matt locked his beloved car and followed her inside their house; Lily Cottage.

"What time is it, Matty?" Carys asked as she wandered into the kitchen, stretching "It's getting light outside..."

"It's," he looked down at that godforsaken Gears of War watch he wore, and yawned "almost six am."

" What? Whoa, I didn't think it was _that_ late...I guess I should have some food and then sleep. You should too, babe." Carys tied her dark brown hair up and sat down at the table, stretching as she did so.

"Yeah, yeah..." he agreed, pulling out his Nintendo DS and sitting down by her "Can I play some Pokémon first though?"

"Sure baby, sure," Carys smiled, kissing him as she stood up again and opened the fridge. Matt laid his DS down and hugged her from behind.

"What food do we have?" he asked, kissing her neck "Or here's an idea; we skip the food and just go to bed..."

Matt's hand moved from her waist, down to inside the front of her jeans. She gasped and bit her lip as he touched her; her skin goosepimpling.

"You," she growled, shutting the fridge door and grabbing his wrist "bedroom, now."

Matt simply smirked and allowed himself to be pulled along "Yes mistress."

It was late afternoon when Matt and Carys finally surfaced. Sunlight streamed through the broken blinds and onto the king-sized bed that took up most of the room. Clothes from earlier that morning where strewn across the floor; Matt's striped shirt hanging off the lamp in the corner of the room, for one, and Carys' bra hung from the corner of a TV screen. Matt, had taken up most room in the bed. He was completely stretched out, one arm hanging off the bed and the other around Carys, who was curled into his side. She wasn't really taking up much space, and had an arm draped across Matt's hips.

"Mmph, Carys." Matt muttered, opening a green eye blearily "What the fuck time is it?"

"I'unno." She replied, yawning and curling closer to him "Check?"

Matt sat up in bed, groping around blindly for the remote control, grasping it and turning the TV onto a news station.

"There has been another twenty four deaths in a high-security prison near London..." the news anchor droned on, frankly boring the shit out of Matt, but he listened anyway "...each prisoner was serving a life sentence at HM Prison Belmarsh, for crimes of various severity..."

"Another twenty four?" Carys shook her head "This shit is getting bad. If my tracking is correct, that makes it well over five hundred now..."

"Five hundred? Well fuck me sideways and call me Mary..." Matt shook his head, stretching out and sitting up, watching the girl by his side carefully.

Carys looked up at the redhead and blinked.

"What?"

"You're beautiful."

"Shut up."

Carys stood at five feet and four inches, only a couple of inches smaller than Matt. She had long dark brown hair, that reached the small of her back and bright hazel eyes that could change to striking green if she was really, really pissed off. Carys was skinny, with a not so small chest and she was pretty damn strong.  
Matt stood at five feet and six inches, had long, shaggy auburn coloured hair, emerald green eyes and a cocky attitude.  
Both were searching for their best friend, Mello, who'd vanished from the orphange both Carys and Matt had grown up at when he was fourteen.  
The latter stayed and earned their letters; M and C.  
To an outsider, Carys and Matt looked like a perfectly normal couple that were madly in love and had married young, but in reality, they were detectives, raised in Wammy's House for Gifted Children; an orphange that wasn't so far from where they lived now, and they had a constant link to the House and to Roger; the man who trains the children to earn their letters and take after the great L. Lawliet.

"No, Carys Marie, I will not shut up. You're a) my wife and b) beautiful, so I shall not keep my opinions to myself." Matt smirked, sitting up and causing Carys to grumble in frustration as she crawled back under the covers.

"I'm ignoring you then."

"Nasty," Matt snickered, laying on top of her and kissing her neck "but I'll make you take notice of me, believe me baby."

Carys made a sound, which seemed to be a cross between a moan and a whine; protesting against Matt's current advances, but still involuntarily bucking her hips when his fingers touched just above her panty line.

Matt of course, was hard already "Come on, Car. A little sex never hurt anyone..."

She giggled and moved so quickly, the next thing Matt knew, he was on his back looking _up_ at her, and if anything, the tent in his boxers got annoying.

Sitting on his hips, Carys raised her eyebrows, licked her lips and pinned his arms above his head "Beg."

"What?!"

"You heard me," her tone was menacing, demanding, and really fucking hot "Beg for it."

"Awww, shit, Car...stop it, you're making me harder."

"Matty, baby." she smirked, slipping her hand into his shorts and grinning, moving her hand up and down and causing Matt to spit out a long, strangled moan "Beg and you shall receive."

"Baby...please," he pleaded "I kinda need you now...so fuck, please just...ugh, you know..."

"No, I don't know. Tell me what you want."

"You, Carys, I want you." he whined, looking up at her pleadingly, biting his lip. Carys simply smirked, let go off him and got up.

"I'm working, so I'm afraid I can't play right now," she said simply, picking up her hairbrush and brushing her tangled hair. Matt stared; eyes wide in shock.

"What!? Car, that's so unfair!"

"Life's unfair, baby." she smiled, looking for a shirt. Matt narrowed his eyes, picked up her phone and put it to his ear, smirking up at her.

"Hello," he smirked, putting on the accent of the local doctor "this is doctor Bullock...I'm afraid Carys is very ill and will not be able to come to work tonight...yes, yes...I will...yes...goodbye!"

Flinging the phone down victoriously, Matt sat up and grinned, crossing his arms "You're not working tonight."

"Oh you bastard!" she glared, putting her hairbrush down and pulling her red vest on, after fishing her bra off the television and shaking her head "you're a bad boy, Matt."

"Ohhhh, Carys," he said in a sing-song voice, getting up "but don't you love it?"

"Surprisingly, I do." she rolled her eyes as he hugged her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Carys snuggled into him, smiling softly and looking at the silver ring on her finger.  
Married at 18.

The phone rang, and the couple pulled apart, staring at it.

"I'll get it." she said, walking over and putting it to her ear "Hello? Oh, hi Roger! What? Oh my god..."

Carys turned to Matt, eyes wide. He stared back, trying to read her expression, but he only confused himself, becoming more confused as her voice dropped to a mere whisper.

"Yeah...yeah...I'll tell him...yeah, of course...we'll be there in a few days...we'll drop in...thank you, Roger...bye..."

Hanging up, Carys sat down, staring at the floor in complete and utter shock., before lifting her gaze up to the red-headed gamer, who was standing only in tight black boxers, waiting for her to speak.

"Car!? Babe, talk to me!"

"Roger found him..." she whispered finally, still in shock "Roger found Mello..."


	3. Home

"W-what?" Matt stammered finally, staring at his wife "W-where is he?"

"The USA." she replied quietly, still in shock herself. It had been at least four years since they'd seen Mello. They hadn't seen him since he'd said goodbye, that dark, wet night.

Matt and Carys stood hand by hand in the main entrance at Wammy's, as Mello stood, looking a little sad.

"We'll meet again." he'd said, looking back at the two "Matt, Carys...find me. Promise me you'll find me."

"We promise." Matt and Carys said at the same time. Mello smiled sadly, hoisted his bag onto his back and walked out of the door, into the rainy night.

And since that day, they'd been searching, with the help of Roger.

"We found him, Car." Matt whispered, looking up at her with emerald eyes, emotion in his eyes "We found Mello."

Grinning at each other, the couple embraced, before kissing passionately. Carys pulled away first, and spoke "Now we just need to get to him."

"How?" Matt asked, cocking his head and adjusting his goggles slightly, before sitting back down on the bed.

"Roger said he'd arrange everything for us. We go to Wammy's tomorrow, and Roger said he'd have tickets for us. We're LA bound, Matty." she laid back, a grin plastered to her face.

"LA? Really?" he blinked, shocked again. Carys nodded, smiled and sat up again, hugging him.

"Yup. LA." she smiled "We're headed to LA tomorrow."

"That's awesome, babe." he grinned, headed towards the bathroom "I'm gonna go shower now though. I shouldn't be too long, and I gotta go out tonight."

When Matt turned his back, Carys grimaced. She knew exactly why he was going out, and she bit her lip, getting up and making the bed, not replying to what Matt said.  
When he was safely in the bathroom, showering, she considering looking through his phone, but decided against it, knowing she'd hurt herself more by even looking through it.  
Matt wasn't a good husband, if Carys was to be completely honest. He'd say he was going out, then he'd meet up with girls and have sex with them.  
Matt Jeevas, the serial cheater.  
Carys could do nothing to stop him, and arguing with him over it would simply make matters worse, therefore she left him to do as he wished, even if it did hurt her more in the end.  
Sighing, Carys finished making their bed, and walked downstairs, and into the kitchen, thinking to herself as she did. She and Matt had been together since they were thirteen, he proposed at sixteen, just before they left Wammy's, and then married in March, a month before Carys turned eighteen. It was now June, and for the past two and a half years, Matt was banging random girls, thinking his wife knew nothing, although she knew everything.

Her friends at work; Alesha and Tammy were the first to tell her.

"_You do know what Matt did last night?"_

"_No...did he get drunk again, because if he did, that's a regular occurrence." Carys said, shrugging Matt's drinking habits off._

"_Oh no," Tammy bit her lip, turning to Alesha "Should I tell her?"_

"_Uh, yes, Tammy." Alesha looked annoyed "If you don't, I will."_

"_What the fuck is going on!?" Carys looked confused "Someone fancy explaining it to me?"_

"_Matt..." Tammy took a deep breath "Matt fucked Alice last night."_

_Alice was Alesha, Carys and Tammy's boss, who had a thing for Matt, and everyone knew it. Carys stared at her friends, eyes wide in horror._

"_No," she whispered out "He wouldn't..."_

"_I'm sorry, chicken." Alesha moved to hug her friend, whom was standing still, deadly silent "Car? You okay?"_

"_Y-yeah," she'd stammered, quietly "I umm...need to go..."_

_Picking up her bag, and heading towards the door of the shop she worked in Carys bumped into Alice on her way out._

"_Oh hi, Carys!" Alice smiled, going to hug her. Instead of the hug, Alice received a fist in her face. Alesha and Tammy had looked on, their jaws dropping, and Alice gasped, looking at Carys in horror "W-what was that for?!"_

"_Fucking my husband." Carys snarled "I hope you enjoyed him."_

_And with that, Carys had left with a slam of the door._

"_You deserved that." Alesha said, as Alice came over for sympathy "Shame she hadn't hit you harder."_

Carys shuddered when she thought back on the memory, and she pushed her fringe off her face. She'd see Alesha and Tammy later, she'd decided. She wasn't sure if she'd see them again.

"Hey babe." Matt smiled, half an hour later, washed and changed, and smelling delicious. He leant down and kissed her cheek, and she simply smiled up at him.

"Hi you. You smell nice. I texted Alesha and Tammy, and we're gonna meet up later for a drink."

"Sounds fun." Matt smiled,lifting Carys up off her seat, sitting down and putting her on his lap, lighting up two cigarettes; one for him and one for her "Here."

"Thanks babe." she replied, as Matt laid his chin on her shoulder and smoked, and Carys closed her eyes, and did the same.

Ten minutes later, Matt got up and kissed Carys softly "I won't be home too late, I promise."

"Okay," she whispered, stroking his cheek and kissing him again "Be safe. I love you."

"I love you too."

Then, with a smile, he was gone, his battered red car roaring down the road, Carys watching out of the living room window.

Shaking her head, she turned to go and get ready.

"Carys!" Alesha called, jumping up and down, Tammy waving .

"Hey girls!" Carys hugged her friends, before sitting down at the little table and ordering drinks "This dinner thing was a good idea, Tammy."

"What can I say?" Tammy grinned "I have brains. So what's the big occasion, girl? You finally break up with Matt or something."

Carys shook her head "No. I'm leaving tomorrow."

Alesha and Tammy stared at her "Leaving? Where?"

"Remember my friend Mello I've been searching high and low for? I found him. He's in LA."

"Whoa...LA..." Alesha whistled, impressed "So you're bound for LA?"

Carys nodded "Yup. So I'm saying goodbye..."

Carys stayed out until one, before heading home again. Matt of course, wasn't home, but arrived home, not long after, curling into his sleeping wife, nervous about the next day.


	4. Mafia

The next day came came quickly, and both Carys and Matt were nervous as they packed. Matt shot Carys a nervous look, and she reached for his hand, squeezing gently.

"It'll be okay."

"What if he's forgotten about us, Car?" Matt sighed, looking up sadly "What if Mello forgot about me?"

"He wouldn't." Carys sat down beside him, and took one of his gloved hands in both of hers, before looking up at him "Matty, you're unforgettable."

He smiled a little, and kissed her forehead "You're amazing, Carys. Do you know that?"

Carys smiled, kissed his cheek and hugged him, before speaking "You do occasionally say that I am."

"Well you are." Matt stood up and pulled Carys up, heaving his bags over his shoulders. Carys picked hers up and smiled, beginning to walk out to the battered red Ford outside, before opening the boot and throwing her bags in, before taking Matt's from him and doing the same.

He smiled gratefully and got into the driver's seat, patting the passenger's seat for his wife, who was now getting into the car.

"So, first stop, Wammy's, yes?" he asked, and Carys nodded, and the two began the long journey to LA.

_**Outside the Mafia hideout, LA, one day later.**_

"Are you sure, Carys?" Matt asked, unsure, as they stared at a nasty looking building "this place looks like a dump."

"Yes, Matt, I am sure," she retorted, shooting a slightly annoyed look at him "Okay, lets go."

The couple walked towards the building, letting themselves in, and wandering around.

Underneath the building, Jack Neylon watched the survellience cameras closely, watching the couple sneak around, before finally calling his boss, Rod Ross over.

"Boss, I don't know who they are." Jack muttered, pointing at the screens. Rod glared at the couple, before calling four of his cohorts over and sending them after the couple, with the intent to kill them both.

"What the fuck is going on?" the leather-clad blonde asked, gnawing on chocolate. Rod turned to him, and muttered one word.

"Intruders."

"Kill 'em." the blonde replied, in a bored tone, not even glancing up at the screens. Rod simply nodded, watching the scene unfold on the screen.

Matt and Carys looked around, slightly unsure of where they were, and they froze when they heard approaching footsteps. Carys instinctively reached for Matt's hand, gripping tightly, and he squeezed her hand reassuringly, smiling at her.

"Drop your weapons and hold your hands up." someone grunted, and suddenly, they were surrounded by four big, big guys. Carys froze, her defensive mechanism refusing to kick in, as she and Matt were both engulfed with fear.

"Hey, she's cute." one of the guys wandered up to Carys and looked her up and down, before reaching out and touching her cheek softly. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, as his rough fingers stroked her skin, and she simply wanted to curl into Matt, who was now almost snarling at the man.

"Leave her alone." Matt said, gulping. Carys turned and looked at him fearfully, hoping he wouldn't be killed "We're looking for Mello."

"What business do you have with Mello?" the biggest man stepped forward, glaring down at Matt. Carys bravely stepped forward, and looked up at him.

"My name is Mihael Keehl." she said "He's Nate River. We used to know Mello, and we tracked him down to here. Our business with him isn't really any of your business, but I'd really appreciate it if you let us see him."

"Jim." the man grunted "Get Mello. Tell him Mihael Keehl and Nate River have business with him."

Jim scurried off, back to Mello, breathless when he finally reached him.

"Mello," he panted "those people...they...have business...with you...one's called...Mihael...Keehl...the other, Nate...River..."

Mello stared in disbelief, before getting up, grabbing his gun and snarling in sheer anger "Where the FUCK are they!?"

Jim stood straight up, and motioned for the blonde to follow him. Mello looked furious and glared as he followed Jim, his hand clenched around his gun.

"They're here." Jim said, and the other three men made a clearing for Mello to walk through, the blonde's face still twisted with fury.

"Hi," the female looked up and smirked "long time, no see, Mels."

Mello stared, not quite believing what he was seeing "Carys? Matt?"

"Hey Mels," Matt grinned "We said we'd find you..."

"So we did."

Mello motioned for the four men to leave, and waited until they were well gone before he spoke "I didn't think I'd see either of you again...are you still together or just friends?"

"Married." Matt proclaimed proudly, holding Carys' hand up, and pulling his glove off, so that both rings were on show. Carys leant into him and smiled contently, before watching Mello again.

"You guys have jobs?" he asked, and they both shook their heads "Okay good...you're in the mafia."

Carys looked at Matt and grinned, and Matt grinned back, before turning his attention back to Mello.

"Let's go for a walk." Mello said, and the couple followed him "We have a lot to catch up on."

--

Four and a half hours later, after a lot of talking, Carys and Matt were in their room that Mello had given them. It was nice; a king sized bed was in the middle of the room, and there were a few cabinets and sets of drawers, and a TV.

Matt was laying on the bed, playing on his DS, whilst Carys set her iPod dock up, plugging it in and playing some Nine Inch Nails.

On hearing what the song was, Matt stopped playing, sat up and smirked.

"You let me violate you...you let me desecrate you...you let me penetrate you...you let me complicate you..." Matt whispered in her ear, while licking her neck. Carys stopped and shuddered, before turning to face him "Turn it up, Car, and put this damn song on repeat."

Carys nodded, and did as Matt asked, before smirking at him and pushing him onto his back, grinding into him and feeling his jeans tighten underneath her. She leant down to his ear, smirked and then spoke "You're turned on already?"

Matt nodded, and rolled them over, so he was on top "I wanna fuck you like an animal, Jeevas."

Matt's lips met Carys', and her hand was on his behind as he ground his hips into hers as they made out. Carys' red vest was gone in a flash, as was Matt's shirt and gloves, and now, Carys was hurriedly attempting to get his jeans off, finally pulling them and his boxers off on her third try. Matt smirked when she rolled them over again, and she positioned her head above his member, before she went down and licked the tip, before taking him in, inch by inch. Matt groaned and watched her, the sight of her giving him head making him even harder.

"Carys," he moaned, panting, knowing he'd be done if she kept this up "stop...come here..."

Carys pulled off him, licking his head once more before moving up beside him. Matt immediately unclipped her bra, threw it across the room, and pushed her jeans down, motioning for her to kick them off and kneel on the bed. Matt too, knelt in front of her, and kissed her, tongues clashing and he then smirked, pulling away and leaning down, removing her panties with his teeth, before pushing her onto her back and holding her wrists above her head, nudging her legs apart with his knee. Carys smirked and moaned when he entered her, and she wrapped her legs around him, forcing him deeper inside her.  
Matt thrusted in as deep as he could go, grunting as he did so. He knew he wouldn't last long, but damn, this was the best sex he'd had in a while.

"Fuck, Matt!" Carys moaned, moving her hips in time with his and slipping a hand between them to touch herself, knowing how much that got them both off "Fucking go faster, asshole."

"As you wish," Matt snickered and moaned, increasing his pace. He gritted his teeth, knowing he was indeed close, but he didn't want this to end right now "Car, fuck, you're so fucking tight..."

"Matt...fuck, Matt..." Carys was almost screaming. This gave Matt what he needed; knowing she was as close as he was.

"Car...I'm gonn- fuck!" he moaned, when he felt her muscles clench around him, and he released her hands, letting her wrap them around her and hold him tightly as they both rode our their orgasms.  
Pulling out shortly after, Matt grinned at his wife and kissed her lovingly as they laid side by side, simply gazing at each other.

"I love you." she finally said, crawling underneath the covers of the bed, Matt doing the same.

"Love you too."

It'd been a long day for them both, and Carys could feel herself slipping into sleep. She curled into Matt, and he put an arm around her, kissing her head before they both fell asleep, exhausted.


	5. Unfaithful

Carys and Matt had been with the Mafia a month now, and things between them seemed to be good. Carys was happy being the only girl around, so Matt's attention was on her, and her only.  
Well.  
So Carys thought.

"Where are you going?" Carys asked, glancing up from her laptop at Matt, who was currently pulling his boots on.

"Out with Mels," he shrugged, smiling at her and lighting up a cigarette "I shouldn't be too late."

"Alright," Carys replied, looking back down at her laptop and leaning on her hands, eyes glued to the screen "be good, have fun, all that shit."

"I will, I will," Matt said, hugging her from behind "what are you doing, anyway?"

"Watching surveillance tapes. Mello asked me to." Carys mumbled, yawning, before pointing at the screen "He said something about this girl, I think her name's Ayame or something."

Matt froze in horror, staring at the screen as Carys continued talking "Mels said she's been hanging around here way too much lately and we might have to kill her, if she finds anything out. But then again, she could be dating someone like Akito or something, but even if that's the case, she shouldn't be here. She's a skank anyway."

"Heh...yeah..." Matt said, kissing Carys' forehead "I'll see you later, baby. I love you."

"I love you too, Matt. Be careful, okay?" she paused her tape and pulled him towards her, kissing him fiercely with a smirk, before he walked away "Bye, babe."

As soon as Matt got outside, he kicked a door and cursed "Fucking DAMNIT!"

"Matt? Is that you?" he turned as he heard the soft voice, and sighed "It's only me..."

"Ayame..." he said as he walked towards her, kissing her gently as he reached her "I missed you, baby."

The girl smiled softly, and reached for Matt's hand. He'd met her not too long ago, and surprisingly had fallen for the soft-spoken girl.

Not something Matt usually did, when it came to his flings. He usually met them, had sex with them, and left them; occasionally going for a few more rounds with them on different occasions, but Matt had decided the timid Ayame was different. A lot different.  
She had a certain charm that he couldn't explain, her quiet demeanour was different to all the other loud girls he'd met (apart from his wife, of course) and her touch was gentle...her touch was like Carys'.  
He smiled, hugged her tight, and took her hand, leading her away from the hideout.  
Luckily, Carys had her back turned, talking to Rod, and missed Ayame leaving with Matt. It was then Mello strode in, munching chocolate like always, and Carys looked at him in confusion.

"Mels? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I haven't been anywhere." Mello replied, an eyebrow raised.

"But...Matt just left...he said he was going out with you..." Carys looked completely and utterly confused, her eyebrows knotting together. Mello's eyebrow was raised, then he put two and two together...

"That...holy shit, that _bastard_!"

"Mello, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"You need to come with me, now. Get your boots on, Car." Mello didn't quite command her to, but his voice was shaking with anger, and Carys did what she thought was best, grabbing her leather jacket as she slipped her boots on.  
Mello then tossed her a motorcycle helmet "You'll need it, sweetheart."

"I will?" Carys still looked baffled, as she put the helmet over her head and followed Mello out to his motorcycle. He got on first, motioning for Carys to get on and hold on tightly "Mello, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"You'll see soon enough..."

There was a hint of sadness in the blonde's voice, and Carys' heart suddenly dropped. Surely Matt wasn't...? No, he couldn't be...he wouldn't.  
She was trying to convince herself that Matt wasn't out cheating on her again. He couldn't be...  
Shaking the thoughts from her head, Carys looked straight ahead, biting tears back and sighing. As much as she denied it, she knew where this was going.  
A short ride later, and both Mello and Carys were stood outside a bar.

"Take your helmet off and give me your hand." he said softly, his helmet under his arm. Carys did as she was asked and bit her lip as Mello led her inside.

Her heart was beating ridiculously fast and her throat was dry. She didn't want to do this, and Mello seemed to pick up on this and squeezed her hand, looking at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, when Carys saw what he was looking at...

"Matt?" she muttered, barely audible. She looked inconsolable and the tears were pouring from her eyes; slipping down her cheeks and onto her jacket. Mello simply pulled her into a tight hug, looking over at Matt, who was currently joking and smiling, completely oblivious.

Then the redhead glanced up, his face dropping as he instantly paled. Mello looked at him, shaking his head in utter disgust, and Carys then looked up; looking totally grief stricken.  
And then, as if it were nothing, Ayame looked up and smiled.  
Carys snapped.

Wrenching herself out of Mello's grip and now looking unbelievably furious, and strode over, yanking Ayame out of her seat by her hair, and pulling the girl up to face her.  
And of course, instead of speaking, she simply headbutted the girl in the face, turning on her hell and storming out; silent tears on her cheeks, before turning back one more time to look at Matt and shake her head.  
And then she was gone.

–

Carys went straight to bed when she got back to the hideout, sobbing into her pillows., with Mello staying by her side and rubbing her back softly.  
He was more than disappointed in his best friend; the best friend who'd sworn blind that no one could be Carys, and he wanted no one but Carys. Clearly Matt had lied, and he wondered if Ayame had been the first.  
When Mello was just about to ask, Carys sat up and sniffled.

"To think she wasn't the first, either."

"She...what?"

"Ayame isn't the first girl Matt's cheated on me with. There was a whole bunch back in Wonston...Alice...Amy...Morgan...Talia...Kayla..." Carys rattled off the list between sobs, sighing "And I always knew...and I never said shit."

"Ssh, Car, it's okay." Mello hugged her and stroked her hair "What you gotta do is sleep, okay?"

Carys nodded, as Mello laid her down and kissed her cheek. She mumbled a goodnight and Mello smilled sadly, waiting until he heard her slow, but even breathing, which meant she was asleep, before he left, and grabbed his gun.  
He stalked through the hallways of the hideout, only Rod stopping to tell him that they'd successfully gotten Sayu Yagami, daughter of the chief of the Japanese Kira taskforce. This made the blonde smirk and he briefly stopped what he was doing, sending a message to Sayu's father and the Japanese taskforce.  
Then, he returned back on his journey, finding the person he wanted to see behind the entrance of the hideout. Pressing the gun to the redhead's skull, Mello growled.

"How could you?" Mello snarled "How the fuck could you?"

"How could I what, Mels?" Matt sighed, turning to face his...ex, best friend? Matt looked weary and maybe...just maybe there were tears pooling in the eyes hidden by orange-tinted goggles.

"Do that to Car...I don't understand it." Mello lowered the gun and watched Matt "You fought to be with her at Wammy's, and now you're cheating on her? Why, Matt...why?"

"I have needs." Matt sounded suddenly fierce and he turned to glare at Mello "I'm too fucking young to be tied down. I want to fucking live, okay?"

"No, that's not fucking okay," Mello hissed, raising the gun to Matt's temple once more "She loves you, and this is how you repay her!? It's not fucking right."

"You know what's not fucking right," Matt snapped "it's not right that she fucking knocked Ayame out!"

"Carys had every fucking right to knock that little whore out," Mello fired back, his blue eyes blazing with fury "You're the biggest fucking asshole I've ever met."

"Whatever," Matt glowered, shaking his head. Melllo frowned, lowered his gun and began to walk away.

"And to think...I thought you were a decent guy."

Matt felt suddenly awful.


	6. Saviour

Days had passed since Carys had found out about Matt and Ayame, and in that time, Sayu Yagami had been exchanged for the fabled Death Note, and Carys was currently in front of the computer, reading up on the Japanese task force.  
So far, she'd found out that on the task force was Soichiro Yagami, Touta Matsuda, Shuichi Aizawa, Kanzo Mogi and Hideki Ide, Mogi being Misa Amane's chaperone. Also on the task force was Soichiro's son, Light Yagami; the boy L himself had accused of being Kira.  
It had seemed the second youngest member of the task force had caught the nineteen year old's eye; he didn't look too bad for being twenty eight, she thought to herself.

"You alright, kid?" Mello asked, setting a beer down in front of Carys. The brunette looked up and smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Mello asked, biting into his bar of chocolate and sitting down beside her. Carys nodded again and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm not a kid, Mello. I'm nineteen." she then smiled again, taking a swig of the beer and returning to her work "I got everyone's profiles up. Have to admit, this Matsuda guy is pretty cute."

"Even though he's what? Twelve years older than you?" Mello snickered. Carys just smiled and waved her hand.

"That's unimportant."  
Matt, who had been earwigging in, sighed. He didn't like Carys talking about other men, but what could he do now? He'd already been with Ayame and more than a few other girls.

"Well, Mels, I believe it's bedtime," Carys yawned, standing up. She stretched and smiled, before waving "Night Mels. Sleep well."

"You too, sweetheart." Mello smiled as she left the room. Matt edged into the shadows, hiding from his wife.  
Carys, who was unbelievably oblivious walked right past him and went up to what was _their_ room.  
Matt, sighed after she passed. He had to do something tonight.  
Matt waited until Carys was safely asleep, before creeping into the room and sitting down on the bed softly. She was spread out; her dark hair obscuring her face, and really, she looked like an angel when she slept.  
Carefully, Matt reached over and moved her hair off her face and watching her sleep. She looked different, he thought. A lot younger and a lot more scared; a lot like the scared seventeen year old that left Wammy's with him.

"I love you," he whispered, standing up and leaning over to kiss her head lightly. Carys stirred in her sleep, and Matt frowned, leaving the room.

Big things would be happening in the next few days, and he wasn't sure if either of them would live.

–

The day, as Mello had been calling it, had finally arrived. He knew what was gonna go down, and he was absolutely petrified, if he were to be honest.  
Matt knew the ins and outs of the plan and had helped with wiring explosives into the building. Carys and the rest of the members were none the wiser.  
Like now, for instance. Carys was laughing and joking with various mafia members on that cold November night, whlist Matt and Mello kept looking over at each other.  
Mello knew that Matt and Carys were safe; the task force knew nothing about them, but if they weren't careful, they could die in the explosions Mello had set up.

"What time is it?" Matt asked. Mello turned to him and sighed sadly.

"11:57." the blonde replied, looking up at a clock on the wall "Two minutes to go."

"You promise me Car's gonna be okay?" Matt asked again, in a low voice. Mello simply nodded.

The next two minutes dragged on, and when it finally happened, Mello jumped up. The mafia members were groaning; gripping their chests and Carys let out a scream. Matt came up behind her and put a gloved hand over her mouth, before whispering in her ear.

"Run, Car, please," he pleaded "run!"

Carys turned to look at Matt, her eyes wide and fearful, and she suddenly knew who was at work here and suddenly her life felt very, very real "But...Matt-"

"RUN, CAR!" Mello screamed, looking scared himself. With a sudden peck to Matt's lips, Carys ran.

–

She'd never realised how big the hideout actually was until then, she deduced, she was running; running for her life, and with luck not being on her side, an explosion knocked her to her knees, and at someone's feet.  
Glancing up, looking utterly terrified, Carys bit back tears and scurried back into the wall, looking up at him.  
Through his helmet, she could see chocolate coloured eyes and black hair flopping into the eyes.

"Touta Matsuda..." she whispered, almost silently. Matsuda looked into terrified hazel eyes and thought he could make an exception for the scared girl.  
Maybe he could take her home...

Then, another explosion screamed through the building, and as if from nowhere, Matt jumped through the smoking doorway. Matsuda had been shaken to his knees, and the force of the explosion had caused Carys to knock her head off the wall behind her and knock herself out.

Matt himself had a cut face and was bleeding profusely; and his shirt was ripped in various places. He ignored Matsuda, and leant down, scooping the unconscious Carys into his arms and running off with her. Matsuda, however managed to sit up and watched after them.  
He decided then and there he'd never forget her long dark brown hair or her terrified hazel eyes.


	7. Forgiveness

When Carys woke up, she was in unfamiliar surroundings, her head on Matt's lap, whilst he and Mello argued.

"Jesus Christ, Mello! Why didn't you kill him!?"

"I didn't have time, Matt! What was I meant to do!? He almost wrote my name in that fucking notebook!" Mello fired back viciously "We need to talk to Near. He has that photo."

"Photo?"

"The only photo there is of me. I need it. What if Kira fucks up Near and gets the photo? Then I am screwed, Matt. And I suppose it might be good for sleeping beauty there to see her little best friend again." Mello said, this time quietly. Carys of course, feigned sleep and listened in "She hasn't seen Angel in years, and I know Angel's with Near, like she always wanted to be."

"Small one's with Near? Is that good or bad?"

It was then Carys decided to awaken. Groaning, she sat up from Matt's lap, and the redhead gasped, enveloping her in a hug; a hug which Carys seemed to hold onto Matt tighter than she ever had before and she could feel wet tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Matty..." she whispered huskily "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...I ran like you said...but the first explosion knocked me at this cop's feet..."

"Ssh, Car, it's fine," he hushed her "it's okay. You, me and Mels are okay..."

"But you look at you, Matt you're all cut and Mel-"  
She stopped dead when she saw Mello. His face was badly burnt and beginning to scar, and Carys' sobs caught in her throat.  
"M-Mels..." she pulled away from Matt and moved over to Mello. The blonde watched her, even stopping from gnawing his chocolate long enough to be pulled into Carys' vice-like hug. He could feel her tears falling from her eyes and onto his back, and he held onto her tightly "You two are too fuckin' good at scaring the shit out of me."

Mello laughed heartily and kissed Carys' cheek "I think you should be over there, making up with your husband. Don't you agree?"  
She nodded and made her way over to Matt, who pulled her into a hug, leaning his chin on her shoulder.  
Mello left the room, leaving the two alone. They pulled away and Matt took her hands into his own, looking his wife dead In the eye. It was coming.  
They knew they had to talk, and that was what was about to happen.

"Car..." Matt started "I'm so, so sorry. I don't know why I did it. I don't know if it's because you and I got married so young, and neither of us had the chance to live, y'know?"

She nodded. She had a feeling this would take all night.

–

It was early the next morning when she woke in Matt's arms. His head was resting on hers and he was snoring slightly, and it seemed that Mello had put a blanket over them at some point.  
Snuggling closer, Carys smiled to herself, but couldn't seem to shake the thoughts of Matsuda from her head.  
Those chocolate brown eyes were beautiful. They couldn't have been the eyes of a 28 year old man...no way. His eyes were easily comparable to the gorgeous emerald ones her husband had.

But like always her husband won over anyone and anything. He had bright green eyes which seemed to always sparkle, even when they were hidden behind his godforsaken goggles, and his red hair was long, but not too long and silky and it always stuck to his cheeks when he was sweaty.  
Yeah, her husband was gorgeous. She'd seen him go from a kid, to an awkward teen, to the man he was now, and she shook her head, knowing any woman could fall for his looks and for his charm.  
Carys sighed heavily; but then froze, worried she'd awoken her sleeping husband,

"Morning." he chuckled, pulling her down to him. She smiled and snuggled in, yawning. Matt simply held her and kissed her hair, feeling completely at ease "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have in days," she replied "and you, babe?"

"Same, same."

"Morning, brats." Mello snickered, shoving cups of coffee down in front of them. Both Matt and Carys stared, then looked at each other, shrugging and leaning forward together to grab their coffee cups. Mello watched them and snickered.

Seemed his plan had been good for more than one thing.. Matt and Carys seemed to be on good terms again, snuggling and all that mushy crap that Mello himself didn't really appreciate "Ew."

The couple had been kissing , and then pulled away to look at Mello.

"What?" Matt asked, looking confused. Carys simply giggled and leant against Matt, as his arm snaked around her shoulders.  
All seemed to be good again.

–

A fortnight passed and the day came for Carys to go and visit the SPK. She groaned in pain; sleeping on an air mattress beside Matt wasn't the most fun in the world.  
He liked his space, and she'd always known that, which usually meant Carys had a corner, or she was sprawled on top of him. She was never cold, though. Matt was like a human heater.

"Are you ready?" Mello asked, surveying the girl. Carys nodded, sighed and fixed her hair one last time, before straightening up and smiling.

"Yup. Let's go." she smiled, stretching and grabbing her leather jacket as she followed the two men into the car, riding in the back as Matt drove and Mello called shotgun._  
The most important people ride in the back...heh... _Carys thought to herself, smirking victoriously. Matt caught her smirk and smiled back at her, shaking his head.  
Carys simply batted her eyelashes and smiled innocently, as Mello turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, we're here." Mello said finally, turning to Carys, who was listening to her iPod, head bobbing along with the music "Car? Caaar? CARYS!?"

"Huh?" the girl's head snapped up and she blinked, before smiling "Sorry. Breaking Benjamin were slightly more interesting there..."

"Yeah, so I saw. Okay, go on and go, babe." Mello nodded as Carys got out the car. Matt grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him for a quick kiss, and smiled when he let go, watching her blush.  
She then got out of the car and walked up to the glass doors, pressing the button for entry.

"Who are you and what business do you have with us?" a mechanical voice asked. Carys blinked, and went to speak.

"I...uh...My name is C. I made plans to meet with N today." she spoke quietly. The voice when quiet and Carys swore she heard a squeak of surprise.

"...Carys?" the voice was no longer mechanical; but the voice of a girl. Carys gasped.

"Angel!? Yes, it's me!"

"Hang on, I'm coming to let you in, Chica!"

From the car, Matt and Mello chuckled to themselves, glad to see Carys so excited and happy, and within seconds, another brunette bounded outside and almost tackled Carys to the ground as she hugged her.  
Carys hugged the girl back tightly and smiled, before being led inside.

This was the start of something else.


	8. Nostalgia

Mello didn't like what Carys did next. Carys was now working with the SPK, and never with Matt or Mello. Matt pined constantly,; even "lowering" himself to beg Near to allow him to see his wife.  
Near reluctantly agreed, whilst Matt rejoiced. He was still having sex with multiple partners (some things never change), but he was having his wife too.  
And come on, Matt's wife was smoking hot.  
It was late one evening when Matt woke up, and Carys _should_ have been there, but Carys was _not_ there. Instead, Carys was on the balcony of their hotel room, acoustic guitar in her hand.

"Now that I've lost everything to you, you say you wanna start something new, and it's breakin' my heart you're leavin', baby, I'm grievin'. But if you wanna leave, take good care, hope you have a lot of nice things to wear, but then a lot of nice things turn bad out there..." Matt listened into her silently, a small, but guilty smile on his lips. Her voice was full of an emotion Matt couldn't fathom.  
To him, it sounded like her voice was breaking; perhaps a little thick with tears "Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world, it's hard to get by just upon a smile. Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world and I'll always remember you like a child, boy."

Frozen as he listened, he wondered...did she know? Did she know he was back to his old tricks? Because why else would she be singing sad songs like that?  
She knew, he deduced. She damn well knew he was cheating again, but why wouldn't she ever say anything!?  
The truth was, unknown to Matt, was that she stayed silent because she was scared to lose him. Scared to lose the only real security in her life, even though he really wasn't that secure.  
Her old friend from Wammy's House; Soar was keeping tabs on Matt and Soar had been telling Carys everything...it was true that it was good to have friends in high places in the SPK.

"You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do, snd it's breakin' my heart in two, because I never wanna see you sad, boy, don't be a bad boy. But if you wanna leave, take good care, hope you make a lot of nice friends out there, but just remember there's a lot of bad and beware..." her voice was breaking by this point, and he could tell. What he couldn't see was the silent tears that were rolling down her cheeks, illuminated silver by the streetlights, and she shook her head, before going on " Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world, it's hard to get by just upon a smile. Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world and I'll always remember you like a child, boy. Baby, I love you, but if you wanna leave, take good care, hope you make a lot of nice friends out there, but just remember there's a lot of bad and beware..."

She didn't do the last two chorus'. Her voice had already broken enough and she was almost in full blown tears, placing her guitar at her side.  
Unbeknown to Matt, Mello was watching him carefully. Mello too, was in contact with Soar, and he too had her keeping tabs on him.

"So," Mello whispered darkly. Matt stared in horror, whilst Mello's glare put the fear of God into him "do tell me about Katie, Olalla, Lauren, Taylor and Page please? Oh, and of course there's Angie! God, Matt, what the hell is it going to take before you stop this shit? Seriously! You think she still doesn't know about these girls? Really? She knows, Matt, she knows. She just won't say anything because she doesn't want to damn well fucking lose you!"

"She doesn't wanna lose me?" Matt choked out weakly, gazing back over his shoulder. Their voices were in hushed, whispered tones so Carys didn't hear, but even if she did hear, she would have instantly blocked it all out, not wanting to hear a thing "What...what do you mean?"

"She loves you, dickhead, and wants to have a real marriage with you. But obvious you know nothing of real marriages, Jeevas, because if you did, you wouldn't be cheating on her, because you'd be staying faithful and you wouldn't be doing this. You honestly are an idiot to let someone like her get away, and I really hope something happens to you, that makes you damn well realise what you have. Something that'll give you a hopefully life threatening kick up the arse."

Matt just stared at his best friend. Only Mello could get away with being so blunt with him, and even if Matt didn't like it, Matt would have to deal with it.  
Mello was always right, no matter what, even if Matt had no intention of admitting it. The blonde was always the one that knew what was the right thing to do, even if it was dangerous.  
Like what they had planned for the near future. It was dangerous; life threatening, but they were doing it to ensure Kira would be caught and they could hopefully live happily ever after, whilst Near took L's place.  
Their plan was recklessly dangerous. Chances are they'd both die, and it ripped Matt apart to know how distraught Carys woulc be if he died. He wasn't sure if he could handle dying. He'd never see her face again.

"We're going to die, Mello." Matt said finally; quietly. Mello just looked at him and nodded.

"I know."

They both sighed and moved to sit down in separate chairs in the lavishly furnished apartment; mumbling details of the plans.

–

The cold December came and went, and now Carys, Matt and Mello were in a run down apartment in Tokyo, Japan.  
Matt was watching his wife carefully as they walked through the Tokyo streets. Her long dark hair was blowing around her face and shoulders, and Matt wasn't sure if she'd ever looked this beautiful before. Her hazel eyes seemed to be brimming with life, and as Matt watched his cigarette smoke disappear into the grey sky, he sighed with a heavy heart.  
How could he leave her now? Just...how? It felt like everything in the world was new to him; like he'd never seen anything like this before.  
Hell, Carys could be doing something mundane, such as ironing and it amazed him. It simply amazed Mail Jeevas about what he'd be missing out on when he was gone. The world may have been corrupt and under Kira's reign, but it was still beautiful in it's own sick, twisted way. Perhaps all of this new found glory and beauty was a way of mocking both him and Mello. Perhaps mocking their mission in some odd, sad way.  
As he looked around, Carys still by his side, they walked through a park. They saw families, and Matt's stomach lurched.  
That was another thing he'd never get to experience. His own family. He'd never know what it felt like to hold his first born child in his arms, and to stay by his wife's side while she gave birth. He'd never get to see Carys become pregnant; or give birth for that matter. He'd never get to see the miracle of life in front of him.  
He shook his head and sighed, the sun breaking through the clouds as if to mock him...again. He reached out to grab Carys' hand, and as he did, she turned to look at him, and something about it made him stare.  
Maybe it was the way the wind caught her hair and whipped it around her face, but for a second, he didn't see a nineteen year old Carys. He saw a fourteen year old Carys, as he remembered her from Wammy's. That same carefree smile he remembered from all those years ago, and the way her hair fell over her shoulders...for just that instant, he saw the little girl he first fell for.

And he wondered how she'd cope without him.


	9. Goodbye

_January 26__th__, 2010_

He had been chain smoking terribly.  
5am and laying awake in the uncomfortable bed, he'd managed to wrangle Carys back to him from Near, Angel, Soar and the SPK the night previously; Matt needed his wife by his side. It was his last night on planet Earth, and he wasn't spending it without his soulmate, he'd told himself. He'd realized in the past weeks that Carys was his soulmate; his one love, his everything.  
Mail Jeevas wasn't one for doing romance. Never had been, really, but he'd gone all out the night previously and instead of fucking his wife, for the first time since their wedding night, Matt made love to Carys, and it wasn't that bad, he thought.  
His breath caught in his throat as Carys rolled over and snuffled in her sleep, groaning his name out sleepily. Matt smiled and leant into her, kissing her hair softly and smiling, before pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly, feeling her warm breath on his bare chest.  
Beautiful, he thought, just...beautiful. It was his for the past five, almost six years. He should have been twenty on the first of February, but that wasn't happening now. He was going to die days before, all to stop Kira.

"Matt..." the door creaked open, and Mello's head appeared. Matt nodded. It was time.

He gently untangled Carys from himself and sighed. She'd never looked so beautiful before and he'd never wanted to stay and hold her so much before. He sighed as he got out of bed, but then sat down on the edge of her side, clad only in his boxers.  
He let his fingers ghost over the pale skin of her cheek, and he could feel his emerald eyes watering. She moved again, this time onto her back so he could see her face, perhaps for the last time.  
Wiping at his eyes, he shook his head, getting up and looking back. The tears seemed to refuse to stop leaking from his eyes and he felt as if there was a weight on his chest; a weight that wouldn't move.  
Shaking his head, Matt slipped his wedding ring off with a sigh, and grabbed a pen and paper to write a note; he had to explain himself to Carys somehow, right?  
He was still crying silently as he wote, his tears staining the page. He sighed, shook his head and laid the pen down, folding the note in two, before tugging his ring off sadly and placing it on top of the note, which he left on the TV.  
He changed silently; quickly before sitting down on the bed again, and tenderly moving some of Carys' hair off her cheek gently. He was still crying too. He couldn't help it.

"I love you." he breathed out, kissing her one last time, and snapping his goggles over his eyes, before standing up and leaving, looking over his shoulder and drinking the sight of his wife in one last time.

–

Mello was waiting for him in the living room, and Mello could tell Matt had been crying. The orange-tinted goggles were fogged up, and Mello smiled half-heartedly, patting Matt on the back.  
The redhead just looked at his best friend and sighed, shaking his head. Mello looked down at the floor sadly, and nodded, signalling for them to go.  
As they stood outside, Mello was holding his motorcycle helmet, and looking down, while Matt bit his lip, not daring to look up.

"Well I guess this is...well..."

"This is the end of Kira's reign." Matt replied firmly, although his voice was soft. Mello nodded again and swallowed, before putting his helmet over his head.  
Matt took this as his cue to get into his battered red car, and as Matt roared off, Mello nodded his goodbye to his best friend.

–

Carys awoke to an empty bed that morning, and sat up, stretching and smiling to herself, before gazing down at the ring on her finger lovingly.

She loved Matt more than anyone could imagine, really and smiled to herself again, almost allowing herself to grin as she thought about her husband. She got out of bed and showered, tying her hair into a messy wet bun before heading off to the SPK headquarters, unknowing of what her husband was up to. She had no damn idea at all, and she never noticed the ring or note on top of the television.  
She paid no attention to the battered red car which screamed past her; nor the four black ones that went past either; she had no idea that Matt had just screamed past her, in a sickening show of self-sacrifice, so she could live...so the world could live without Kira and without fear.

He wasn't just saving her. He was saving the world.

She keyed in her number at the SPK headquarters, and let herself in, and as she went inside, she felt an eerie atmosphere. Shrugging it off, Carys headed farther inside the building and sat at her laptop, watching surveillance tapes of Teru Mikami, meanwhile Angel, Soar, Near and the other members watched Mello and Matt's escapade on the wide screen television.  
Near of course sent a message to Light Yagami of the Japanese Task Force to say he had no involvement in the kidnapping they were watching.  
Matt and Mello had kidnapped Kiyomi Takada. They'd kidnapped her.  
And as it stood, Matt was in a car chase around Tokyo. Matt had screamed past his wife earlier and she knew nothing.  
The day dragged past for Carys, and both Angel and Soar kept checking in on her, saying nothing, just shaking their heads in sympathy. The poor girl knew nothing; absolutely nothing, and they knew everything, and under Near's orders, could not tell their best friend about the current situation.

Matt however, knew his time had come now. Surrounded by thirteen armed bodyguards, he got out of his car, and raised his hands up high "Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry such big guns around? Yeah, I know you'll wanna talk to me, I'm connected to the kidnapper...You won't shoo-"

All at once, shots were fired by the thirteen, and as Matt took the shots and fell to the ground; a half smoked cigarette hanging from his lips, he thought of one person.  
He thought of Carys. He thought of her carefree smile. He thought of her beauty.  
As Mail Jeevas closed his eyes, the pain unbearable, he still smiled as he thought of Carys. Even the worst pain was bearable if he thought of her face; her smile and the way she always told him she loved him, and he smiled, knowing he'd just saved her life.  
Now Carys could live.

Back in the SPK headquarters, Carys stretched and stood up, before heading towards the main room, smiling and walking with a bounce in her step.  
She was glad she'd be seeing her husband tonight...or so she thought. Entering the room, she grinned and waved, before looking up at the screen.  
Her heart instantly sank, her face paled and her eyes widened.  
Near, Halle Lidner, Gevanni, Rester, Soar and Angel's eyes were glued to the screen, as a newsflash showed up, and there on the screen was a bullet riddled red car, and a body laying beside it.  
She could have recognized that body anywhere. Boots, jeans, a fuzzy tan vest and a red and black striped shirt, every article of clothing bloodstained. On the corpse's head was a messy tangle of bright red hair.  
Carys took a step back and gasped; this couldn't be real, oh no...it couldn't be. Both Angel and Soar turned to look at her, their faces red and blotchy. Their faces truly said it all.

Carys fell to her knees and let out a scream "MATT!"


	10. Sorrow

The rain began to pour not long after Carys let out that scream. She didn't know what to do nor say, and stood staring at the screen for a good ten minutes, unblinking and standing in shock.  
She fell to her knees shortly after, the entirety of the room watching her carefully, before Angel and Soar rushed to her side, supporting the now broken girl.

"We're here, Car, sshh..." Soar whispered, hugging the younger girl into her. Angel looked up at Near, who shook his head. It wasn't just Matt now...

"Lidner, get to the scene of Mello's...death before anyone else does. Gevanni, head downtown and deal with Matt."

Soar even looked up at Near and stared in horror. Mello was dead too?! Carys choked out another sob into Soar's shoulder, screaming out Matt's name; the pain in her chest unbearable. Why was Matt dead? Why did he do this? Why did he kidnap Takada?  
There were so many why's and what if's floating around Carys' head, and she couldn't help what happened next.  
Carys passed out, hitting the floor with a light thud. Soar and Angel, through their own tears tried to pull Carys up, not knowing how much Carys was actually hurting right then.

"Soar..." Angel sniffled, once they had Carys laying down "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I really don't know," Soar whispered, shaking her head "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"But she was always too good for Matt." Angel explained "He had sex with so many other girls behind her back, and everything, and even through that, she stayed with him. She stayed with the cheating bastard."

"Then I guess," Soar sat back, sipping some hot, sweet coffee "She really did love him."

Angel only nodded, watching Carys quietly.

An hour passed slowly, and Carys finally awoke, sitting up like some...zombie. She politely refused Angel and Soar's offers to take her home, and tied her hair up, leaving the SPK and heading downtown.  
She had to see where he died. She couldn't not see where he died.  
People passed her; smiling, happy people, even through the rain was falling heavily, and she envied all the couples she saw, and she missed Matt more than she thought possible.  
Her iPod blasting in her ears, she sighed again, tears falling from her eyes rapidly.  
Not that anyone could tell she was crying, because of the rain, and the song which was currently playing didn't help...

"_If I died we'd be together, I can't always just forget her, but she could try. At the end of the world, or the last thing I see, you are never coming home, never coming home, could I? Should I? And all the things that you never, ever told me and all the smiles that are ever gonna..."_

Sighing heavily again, she pulled her headphones out and shoved her iPod in her bag, pulling out her SPK ID as she approached the scene, her heart feeling heavier and heavier with every step.  
A few of the Japanese task force were scattered around the scene, and as Carys approached, her fingers trembled around her ID.

"ID p-please." the youngest member asked; Carys knew him! It was Touta Matsuda!  
She held up her ID, and he took it from her with trembling fingers, looking it over, then looking at her, and handing it back, allowing the girl entry into the scene, and she looked around, before heading straight to the spot where Matt died and crumpling to her knees, sobbing loudly.  
Matsuda watched her sadly, before walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder "You knew him?"

She sniffed and nodded, and he shook his head again, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a comforting hug. What Carys did next was automatic; she turned into his chest and sobbed into him, and Matsuda simply held her closer and rested his chin on her head, all while the rain poured on them, thunder crashing and lightning streaking across the dark blue, almost black sky.  
They sat like that for a long while, before Carys finally pulled away, shivering and sniffling.

"I better go..." she finally said, and Matsuda blinked upon hearing her voice. She was...Welsh?  
Nodding, Matsuda watched as she got up and literally ran from the scene. Where had he seen her before...he knew her....he damn well knew her, but from where!?  
This was going to irritate him.

–

Back at the apartment she once shared with Matt and Mello, Carys looked around.  
It was empty. Someone had been back and taken Matt and Mello's laptops, and all their equipment, and most importantly, the one thing Carys had missed this morning was gone.  
The note and the ring.  
She went straight to bed that night; nightmares of Matt's face plaguing her. She barely slept, and when she did, all she saw was Matt.  
All she saw was his face; covered in blood, and his eyes closed underneath cracked orange goggles.  
She sat bolt upright, panting and sweating; tears rolling down her face. It was 6am when she checked the digital clock at her side, and she swung her legs out of bed and headed towards the kitchen to make herself some coffee.  
She was like a walking zombie. Her face was pale and she had no drive to do anything, only heading to the SPK because she had to.  
It was around 9:15am when she arrived, heading into the main room and beginning her mundane task of watching Teru Mikami...again.  
She ate her lunch in silence, and only glanced up when Near began talking to the Second L, Light Yagami.

"Yes, that's correct...1pm tomorrow afternoon, the Yellow Box Warehouse..."

Now Carys was intrigued. Why would Near want to meet the Task Force tomorrow? She was curious now, and her thoughts strayed from Matt, to what Near was talking about.

When he came off the intercom to Light, he turned to the room. Gevanni, Rester, Lidner, Soar, Angel and Carys all looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow we come face to face with Kira."


	11. Meeting

It was the 28th of January. It seemed after that little intercom message, the day sped up for Carys, and she slept rather soundly that night. The next day though, she was nervous.  
Light's fiancee, Misa Amane had been then called Misa to confirm her freedom, and then called Mogi, who was with Lidner, to get his password for the safe, in which the Death Note was hidden in.  
As all of this went on Carys stood watching everyone; her heart thumping as Near disconnected with the Second L.

"Come on." Near mumbled, turning away and heading towards the doorway. For a split second, Carys was afraid of what was to be, but as soon as Angel and Soar took one of her hands each, she knew she'd be okay.

A sad smile towards her two closest friends, and a nod, they turned and followed Near, out and into the rain, and into the awaiting car, where Gevanni and Rester already were.  
This was a day of destiny, Carys deduced. They'd come out either dead or alive.  
Carys was jealous of the way Near and Angel were discreetly holding hands in the back of the car, but at the same time, she wasn't. Part of Carys wanted to die that day, just so she could be with Matt again...even if it was just for a second.

Angel was looking at the albino beside her, and fingering his L mask nervously, before looking out of the window, as the rain poured down.  
Today could be the last day of their lives, and neither she or Near had done much, relationship-wise, even though they were engaged to be married.  
Yes, they'd had sex. Near wasn't the little virgin Mello had always made him out to be, but if they died...they'd never be married and they'd never have children, and Angel had always wanted children.  
She supposed she couldn't make assumptions about what would happen in the hours to come; fate would play it's part and perhaps they would come out of this alive.

Soar on the other hand, wouldn't take her eyes off her hands, and the chain she had clasped tightly there. He died because of Kira; he died fighting Kira, and she knew, oh, ho, ho, Soar just _knew_ L died in Kira's arms.  
She damn well knew it.  
She was going to get justice for him today, whether it killed her or not.  
When they finally arrived at the warehouse, Near held back beside Angel, gave her a quick, but passionate kiss, and before he took his mask from her.  
The look in his usually stony, unemotional eyes said all it needed to to Angel, and she nodded, following him inside and sighing deeply, taking her place behind Near and between Carys and Soar, whilst Lidner, Gevanni and Rester were scattered around Near, his face unknown to anyone else as he hid behind a mask of his predecessor.  
When the Task Force entered, Carys looked up, with almost wide eyes.  
He was there, alongside, Ide, Aizawa and Light, Matsuda was there.  
Then it began.

"Light Yagami. Kira...Kira will meet his fate here today." Near stated, simply. Light looked down at the masked teenager with a sneer.

"Near," his sneer causing Angel to glare, and Carys to scowl . Light's next remark caused a growl to rip from Carys' throat, and Angel's glare hardened"You are inferior to L. You have no right wearing L's mask."

"L, those six are the SPK...I'm sure of it." Aizawa spoke with confidence, and even though she was showing a tough demeanour, Carys was scared "The one in the mask is Near."

A small discussion went on between Light, L and the SPK, about if Near was really Near, a discussion which Light abruptly stopped , when Matsuda feverishly cut in.

"Wait a minute! I don't care who he thinks is Kira- but that mask is proof he's only trying to protect himself!" the young detective cut in. Carys watched him carefully, an eyebrow arched, hand on her hip and near her gun, in case things went sour. Light sighed, in almost a bored manner, before turning to Matsuda.

"Matsuda, he thinks I'm Kira. It cannot be helped."

"But he was talking so much about meeting you face to face. It just doesn't seem fair." Matsuda replied. Light sighed, again, and turned to Matsuda, again.

"I'm telling you, Near has his own ideas about what's going on here, so it's not going to help if we complain about it. Let's just get on with this."

The room went silent; Near's SPK staring Light's Task Force down; Carys' glare one of the harshest. She knew this man was the reason her husband died, and she wasn't going to leave here without knowing the truth.

"This mask..." Near stated simply "is insurance."

A gasp came from the gathered Task Force "Insurance!"

"I am confident Kira and the person ordered to do the killings; X-Kira do not know my face, but there is a possibility that everybody else's face is known to these individuals in question. Of course, this is all assuming that L is Kira...so, since the place and time for our meeting was decided upon three days ago, there is a chance that everybody else's name, excluding mine has already been written in the notebook, to be killed."

After Near spoke, there was nothing but silence. Angel was surprised that no one could hear her heart beating; surely it was as loud as she thought?  
Then, Near began talking again.

"If that were to happen, only Kira and I would be left, and all Kira would have to do is write my name in the notebook that Mr. Aizawa has with him right now. Though it is my hypothesis that the Kira here does not have the ability to kill just from looking at faces." Near went on, all eyes on him "So please give me an hour- no, thirty minutes- to be sure that no one here is already marked to be killed by the notebook."

"W-what!" Matsuda stammered in shock, his brown eyes wide. Carys watched him carefully, a frown on her lips "You're waiting to see if we die!"

"That's okay," Light shrugged. Angel growled, staring him down "We'll let Near do as he likes. If not, we won't be able to clear things up. But Near, I do believe that you are in fact, the real Near, and I care little about the face behind the mask. What I would like to see is what you were going to show me pertaining to the Kira case."

"That..." Near began, Angel looking down at him worriedly and willing him not to take his mask off "can only be revealed after I take the mask off."

Then of course, Matsuda came out with another outburst, which made Carys eye him curiously "You can't show the evidence to us unless you take the mask off, but you're not going to take the mask off! Aren't you contradicting yourself?"  
And as if on cue, another smart remark from Light "He means he's going to take it off when he's sure everyone's going to remain alive."

"Yes," Near nodded, and then everyone stood in silence, the next twenty minutes going past excruciatingly slowly, and as Carys glanced up, she was sure she saw Matt standing against the opposite wall, smirking; his cigarette hanging loosely from his lip as he watched her. She blinked, just to see if he was real and sighed sadly when she found he was gone.  
Angel picked up on Carys' sudden sadness, her heart sinking for her friend.  
Half an hour passed slowly, and finally, Matsuda spoke.

"Near! It's been more than 30 minutes now, and nothing's happened!"

"Of course," Light drawled on "That's because Kira isn't here."

"Very well, it seems like you are all safe," Near reached up towards to his mask and began pulling it off, Angel looking more than a little worried "I'll go ahead and take off the mask then."

The Task Force seemed more than a little shocked when a little white haired boy looked up at him, a smile on his face. Of course, Matsuda had more to say "Okay, you've taken the mask off. What else do you have to show us!"

Ide placed a hand on his shoulder "Matsuda, don't rush him."

"I'm sorry," Near twiddled his hair, looking almost bored "but you're going to have to wait again."

"What! Again!" Matsuda fumed. Carys' eyes were trained on him "What the hell are we waiting for!"

"...For the one to complete our circle."


	12. Patience

"The one to complete the circle?" came the snort from the Task Force. Angel, Soar and Carys exchanged confused glances. Something was clearly about to go down, and Carys' heart then stopped in her throat.

"Hey, you know I'm here beside you, right? You're gonna save the world, Car. You, Soar and the short one. You're gonna save the world and be the fuckin' superstar you deserve to be. I love you, alright?" his voice echoed around her mind and her skin prickled. Was Matt with her, looking after her? She took a deep breath and watched the events unfold, determination in her eyes.

"He'll definitely come and we're waiting for him. The building is sealed, and only by opening the door can one see inside," Near muttered, twirling his hair and looking at the door "For sure he'll come through the door...or at least try to peek through it."

More mutters from the Task Force "Who do you say is coming? Generally speaking, no one except the people here know about this place."

"That's right, which is why the person coming is working under Kira, as X-Kira , and was thus told about this place by Kira himself." Near replied, before looking up at Aizawa "Mr. Aizawa...you always kept an eye on L, even after Takada's death?"

"That's right." Aizawa nodded. Matsuda looked at the older man, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"In that case, there is no doubt that Kira was using Takada to contact X-Kira. On the night the time and place were settled for this meeting, L and Takada met. Through her, L may have relayed that information back to X-Kira...the date then- no, he _did_ tell it then." Near twiddled his hair once again, as if in thought "However neither L or I were aware of Mello kidnapping Takada, and with Takada's death, L lost his means to contact X-Kira, and he could no longer send his 'abort coming' message. In fact, there would be no point to such a message for each of our respective scenarios to play out; he couldn't afford changes

"How can you be so sure that L is Kira! "Matsuda choked out, Ide did the same, staring at the albino.

"That's right! In fact, if a third party is coming...Near, it's not unreasonable to assume that person's with you!"

"He's not. He's the one currently carrying out judgements for Kira. Isn't it obvious Kira would instruct him to come?" near mumbled. Light had been very quiet, simply observing the scene; smirking to himself.

"Wait a minute!" Matsuda almost yelled "If it's the person who performs Kira's judgements, does that mean he'll bring the notebook with him!"

Carys cast a glance to both Angel and Soar, gulping. She wanted this over and done with as soon as possible, and wanted to leave the warehouse with both Soar and Angel, and the answers both she and Soar needed.  
Angel however, just wanted to leave, with both Kira and X-Kira dead.

"That's right. He'll bring the notebook for sure," Near twiddled a tress of white hair around his fingertips "He'll see my face and write my name down."

"S-so you actually mean to prove Kira sent this guy...by dying?" Matsuda whispered. Angel's eyes widened and brimmed with tears. He hadn't told her this! Now she understood how her friends felt. They hadn't known their lovers were going to die...if Matsuda hadn't opened his big damned mouth, she wouldn't know this!

"No. To be precise, I'll prove it by letting him _attempt _to kill me." Near said nonchalantly , looking down at his toys and fiddling with them.

"Wait, Near!" Aizawa started. Near looked up, his eyes barely leaving his toys.

"What is it?"

"If this X-Kira kills you...it's obvious he'll kill everyone in this room, as we all know about the notebook."

"Correct. It would mean Kira's absolute victory and the reason he came here." Everyone in the room visibly tensed, especially Carys, Angel and Soar. They could...die?  
Of course Carys knew this was a possibility; and of course it would mean she'd be with her beloved Matt once more but...she wasn't ready to die, and she sure as hell had no intention of dying by Kira's filthy hands.

"I don't understand!" Matsuda flailed. He seemed to be the over-reactive type, Carys had noticed, and he seemed to enjoy being...well...loud "What is he saying! That this third person will come with the notebook and kill us all!"

"And we just sit back and watch?" Ide cut in. Near twirled his hair once more and looked up.

"Yes."

"You must be joking!" Ide screamed "That's probably what Kira wants! And from what it seems, whatever happens, this will be our defeat."

"No, it won't." Near sighed, messing with his finger puppets , before glancing at the teams assembled behind him, and in front of him. His SPK and the Japanese Task Force "It will be our victory. If you do as I tell you, then we will win for sure. When this person comes through the door, only greet him, and if you see the door open slightly, simply ignore it."  
Light smirked to himself once more, and it took everything in Carys not to wipe that smirk off that bastard's face with her Colt revolver. Little did she know, both Angel and Soar were feeling the same way; Soar especially. She wanted to kill that bastard, the same bastard that had L killed, and held L in his arms as he died.  
Light Yagami was Kira. Soar knew it, she fucking knew it.

"That's ridiculous! Near, it's as if you were Kira yourself, it's you who wanted to gather everyone who knew of the notebooks existence, and it's you who's allowing our names to be written in the notebook even so..." Aizawa exclaimed, shaking his head. Light continued smirking, and Carys bit back a bitter snarl. It was as if he was pondering his victory in his head.

"However...I will do as you say." Aizawa nodded. Matsuda stared at his co-worker in utter shock.

"Wait! Aizawa! There's no meaning in this!" the younger member yelled, his brown eyes wide. Before Matsuda could say anything more, Mogi stood forward.

"And I will too, Near."

"M-Mogi..."

"He's already here." Near stated simply, and all eyes were on the door. Carys' heart was racing; this was it. She was either going to live or die.

_I might be seeing you sooner than I thought, Matty, she pondered to herself, as she took a deep breath. She gazed to where she'd thought she'd seen him earlier, and he...he wasn't there._  
From behind the door, X-Kira could see their names and life-spans. Sora Himitsu. Angel Lennon. Carys Jeevas. Nate River. Stephan Loud. _Light Yagami._  
The only one with no life-span...so it was clear. Light was his God.  
"God!" he exclaimed to himself excitedly, before beginning to scribble down everyone but Light's name down in his notebook, with a mutter of "delete" everytime he wrote a name.

–

Not a word was uttered from either side until Matsuda haphazardly drew his gun "T-this is bad, you guys! If our names are really being written this very moment, then needlessly..."

The entire SPK, including Carys, Angel and Soar raised their guns and aimed at Matsuda "Don't move!"

"W-what! That's kinda stupid..." Matsuda muttered, lowering his gun.

"It's okay," Near shook his head "we won't die. It's fine, even if your name is written down, you won't die, and with this, the shadow over Kira will be unveiled."

"A-and how can you say that?" Aizawa stammered, shocked. Carys and Angel exchanged glances with each other, confused. Just what the hell was Near playing at? Little did they know, Near was about to reveal his plan."

"I modified the notebook." Near smirked "I replaced the pages when I was in direct contact with the notebook...the one outside now. The person judging for Kira was writing precisely one page a day, and even if he writes our names, we won't die because I replaced the pages for today and thereafter."

"M-modified? And you made direct contact with the notebook! How...?"

"Right now he's outside writing our names. He will take a look inside once more to check if we're dead, and at that point, you may restrain him at that point. Then, we seize the notebook and the person who's name is not there is Kira." Near smirked once more, certain of his plan. Angel looked at her lover curiously. Was he...for real?

"Of course the one who's name isn't written is Kira, but..b-but..." Aizawa shook his head, shocked. Light smirked to himself once more._  
Just as planned._


	13. Victory

Silence.  
Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes like hours. Light smugly stood up and spoke, all eyes in the room on him.

"Whoever's outside, are you done writing the names?"

"Yes, I am." came the quick reply...almost too quick of a reply, Carys thought to herself. Glancing at her two closest friends, they also seemed to think that, judging by the looks on their faces.  
All three girls shared puzzled looks, until Near, who barely looked up, spoke quietly "Isn't it a little strange? Why does he answer your question, 'are you done writing the names', so honestly?"

"Who knows?" Light replied, barely containing his smug smirk "Maybe he's an honest guy, or maybe some room to spare. Maybe your plot has been seen through..."

"W-what?" Matsuda stammered. It was expected that the young detectives silence wouldn't last long. Carys raised an eyebrow as she watched him, it seemed he could never keep quiet "T-then we're all d-done for!"

"Teru Mikami," Near spoke firmly "If you don't mind, will you come in please?"

"Teru Mikami? Don't just hide there; come in." Light added, watching the door. Carys' heart was pounding. Within the next thirty or so seconds, she'd know if she'd live or die. Her life hung in the balance, and what had she achieved?  
Nothing. All she'd become was a stupid, blind woman. Tears stung at her eyes and she shook them away. What use was crying now? It would get her nowhere.

"Mikami, I know you're taking Kira's judgements now," Near stated simply "If you wrote down the names, there's nothing to fear, is there? Here, please come in, or you at least want to join with Kira, don't you?"

The door suddenly roared open, and both Carys and Angel jumped. The silhouette of a man with what seemed like long hair stood at the doorframe, one hand up on the door, and his free arm curled around the Death Note.  
Light smirked triumphantly; he had won!

"At you command, God." Mikami grinned. Carys' heart was in her throat and she looked around, nervously, as Light continued smirking smugly.  
If she could've, Carys would have probably punched the smug bastard in the face.  
Time was ticking, though, and Light turned to Mikami, looking down at him with a slight curl of a smile on his lips "How long has it been since you wrote the first person's name?"

"35...36...37...two seconds to go!" Mikami snickered. Carys closed her eyes, muttering a prayer under her breath.

Memories flooded her head; memories of Matt, and memories of Wammy's House. Her heart seemed to be thumping loudly in her ears, and she bit back tears, preparing herself to meet Death head on.  
She opened her eyes briefly, to find Yagami Light grinning.

"Victory is mine, Near."

–

Near smiled. Victory belonged to the fake L? Of course not. He told them all they wouldn't die, and they still didn't believe him. Almost a minute had passed now, and everyone seemed to be looking around, before turning to look at both Near and Light.  
Angel was blinking quickly, trying to catch her shaky breath as she looked around frantically. It was coming to an end. Kira's reign was finally over.  
Soar stared at Light defiantly, not caring about the bitter tears rolling down her cheeks. Her suspicions had been confirmed.  
Light killed L, and it had finally come to the surface.

"We...we didn't die?" Matsuda blinked, looking around at everyone else in the room, all of them standing in shock "More than a minute passed and we didn't die!"

"I recall I told you all several times you wouldn't die," Near added in, sounding bored, never taking his grey eyes off Light, who in turn was staring wide eyed, before turning to a distressed Mikami.

"Why? Why won't they die!" Mikami whimpered; the weight of letting his God down seemed to be distressing him even more "God...I just did what you asked!"

The Second L glared at Mikami, before trying to figure out what had happened. The Death Note was supposed to be fool-proof, and really, everyone should have died; and Kira should be reigning over the world. Light could feel the sweat slipping down his face, and he stared at his feet.  
But Light was not defeated yet.

"Rester, Gevanni, detain Mikami." Near muttered, still not taking his eyes off Light. Mikami managed a stranged scream of 'God!' as both Gevanni and Rester detained him, the Death Note fluttering from his hands. Near watched the book fall to the floor ungracefully, smirking slightly "Gevanni! The book!"

Gevanni hastily scooped the book up, passing it to the white-haired detective. He pored over the pages, before finally finding the page with all of their names with it on "See for yourselves..."

Light stared, almost in fear as Near held the book up. _Nate River, Antony Carter, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullock, Carys Jeevas, Sora Himitsu , Angel Lennon, Kanzo Mogi, Touta Matsuda, Hideki Ide, Shuichi Aizawa. _Near smirked again, watching Light with piercing grey eyes, almost looking amused. "The first seven names are the real names of the SPK members here with me today, and of course, the final four names, are the names of the Task Force. The only name that isn't here is Light Yagami." Still staring at Light, Near's smirk widened "Mikami also called you God...this proves it."  
Light looked like a frightened rabbit in headlights, unable to figure out why his plan had failed. He tried to speak, but stammered before jerking an accusing finger at the SPK , screaming almost frantically"A trap! This is a set up by Near and the SPK to frame me! It's impossible that nobody's dead even after their names have been written in the notebook! That proves this is a trap!"

The members of the Task Force looked at each other in both shock and confusion, as they mutter remarks of surprise to each other. Near narrowed his gaze on Light, sighing again "...I told you nobody would die. I replaced the pages in the notebook."  
Light, still looking like a frightened rabbit went through any scenario that could've happened in his head._  
But...how? How did he replace the pages...? Mikami wrote in the real one!_  
"W-well...you...it...it can't b-be! It's impossible! This is a set up! I don't know this man!" Light threw Mikami a glance, and the X-Kira looked visibly deflated, letting out a cry similar to the scream of a cat in pain. Mikami sniffled, as Aizawa approached Light, cuffs in his hands, ready to arrest Kira.

"Light..." the detective sighed. Carys watched the scene, relief washing over her. It was over, after all the pain, and the loss, the Kira case was about to be closed.  
As she thought of the people she had lost, she bowed her head.

"_I told you that you'd do it, babe. The amazing and beautiful Carys. The girl I fell in love with you. I fuckin' love you, you superstar._" She heard Matt's voice again, and looked around, seeing nothing that even resembled the redhead.  
She was going insane, she thought, before turning her mind back to the scene before her.

"It's too late now, Light. Near won." Aizawa muttered darkly, reaching out for Light's wrists "Minutes ago, you said 'I win'. That's enough proof now, and a good enough confession."

"Light...why?" Matsuda fell to his knees, shaking his head and sobbing softly. Carys gazed over to the broken man, biting her lip.  
It seemed it hadn't just been her who'd lost someone.  
Light, however had other plans. He smacked away both Mogi and Aizawa as they went to detain him, running back, but tripping and falling moments later . He pulled himself up and leant against the wall, panting.

"S-stop!

"Light Yagami...L...Kira. You lose." Near stated simply. Angel stared at her lover through bleary eyes brimming with tears. She too, looked down, feeling lucky.

Angel hadn't particularly lost anyone during this case; she had never really ever had much in common with Matt or Mello, and she couldn't really say she was friendly with either of the pair, but she had help Carys burden her grief the past few days, feeling for her, rather than either of the males.  
The tears of joy slipped down her pale cheeks silently. The war was won.


	14. End

"claimed your victory a moment ago, and to tell you the truth..." Near remained calm, cool and composed, as he spoke to Light. However, Carys was shaking violently; so violently she felt sick. Her heart was still racing, beating against her chest loudly, simply staring at Near as the albino spoke "You might've actually won, and I may have lost. You had Mikami use a fake Death Note and had him carry it around in front of us, so that we would believe it was real. You even went as far as to suspect that I actually would replace the pages in the fake notebook, so I wouldn't die if my name was written. So everything went exactly as you expected, and we replaced the pages in the fake notebook."

Light was panting, as Near's piercing gaze never left him, the young detective informing Light of his plan, almost gleefully, before sitting back and pulling a book from out of the front of his white shirt "This is the real notebook."

Carys' eyes widened as she looked at him. He had the real Death Note! She looked over at Soar, who looked equally as shocked, and for Angel, who looked pale and about ready to pass out.

Carys turned back to Near, and tried to ignore the bile rising to her throat as Near said 'hello' to an apparent Shinigami. Light was beginning to panic now, as Near spoke to Ryuk. He was backed up against the wall and sweating, as Near finally turned to him again.

"Light Yagami, you are Kira."

Light took a breath, and shakily regained his composure, before glaring at Mikami, assuming that his faithful disciple had betrayed him. Near could see this, and held up a puppet on his finger.

"You're wrong," he half-smiled "It's thanks to Mello..."

Carys froze. She knew Near wouldn't have said his name, but he was with Mello. He helped Mello and Near. She bit back a sob the best she could; but hiccuped slightly, catching Matsuda's eye.

That girl..he remembered her now from Mello's mafia days...she was there; but Mello didn't save her. The guy who died a few days back had...Mello's accomplice.

And then it clicked in Matsuda's head. The girl and Matt knew each other well enough for him to be saving her life, and for her now to be crying...but how?

He'd find out. He'd pester Soar about it eventually.

It all became mumbles and grumbles and Near spoke of Mello's plan; Gevanni joining in. Carys' mind was elsewhere.

_Matt would hate to see you cry, you stupid girl!_ She thought to herself. She didn't know how much time had passed, but when she looked up, Near was about to speak again "Together, we are as able as L! Together, we can surpass L! And now...we have concrete evidence of the Kira whom L was not able to bring to justice! The Kira who defeated L!"

Light looked furious, before finally breaking down and crashing to the ground. Everyone looked down at him, unsure of his next move. Eyes peered down cautiously as Light began snickering, before erupting into maniacal laughter. Carys froze, something about that laugh made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in more than just fear.

When Light's laughter subsided, and he began to speak again, she didn't hear his confession. She heard something entirely different, and that silky-smooth voice caused her knees to shake violently.

"_That's right...you're my little successor..._"

In fact, Carys heard nothing of what Light was and had been saying. That laugh had triggered a lot of memories she'd hidden away, in fear of them catching up with her.

Carys was lost in her memories until there was a flurry of movement, and a gunshot. She looked over to find Matsuda, gun-in-hand, with tears rolling down his face. She bit back the urge to cry herself as she watched him.

"_W-what was it...chief? Y-yes, C-Chief Y-Yagami...your __father!_ What did your father die for?" Matsuda screamed the last words between choked sobs. Carys looked over again, and moved forward, getting closer to him.

"_My father?" Light snorted, clutching his shot hand "Matsuda, those humourless people crowned with justice lose the truth immediately. Is it possible to live in a society with such fools around?"_

"_Y-you drove your own father to his death!" Matsuda screamed back again at Light, his tears ceaseless. Carys, in a way could understand him, and wanted nothing more than to tell him she understood "Now you're trying to turn it around and say they're the ones that got tricked!"_

"_Society where people like my father wouldn't be tricked! That's the society he died for!" Light fired back at Matsuda quickly "I'm telling you, his death shouldn't be wasted! You need to kill everyone here, don't understand that!"_

Matsuda stood, gun raised, panting as the tears continued. Carys was right behind him now, and looked up, alarmed "Quick! He's writing with his blood!"

Suddenly, Matsuda shot him once, twice...and as Light fell, he walked towards him, aiming his pistol at Light's head "He has to die!"

"_Matsuda! No!" the Task Force rushed forward, knocking Matsuda's aim and holding him back, as the stray bullet missed Light's head by inches._

Matsuda was hysterical, and he crashed into her arms.

"Mikami! Mikami, help me!"

Mikami looked down at his phony God; shaking his head "You're no God. You're trash."

Light screamed out again, screaming out for Misa, for Takada...pathetically calling out for anyone, before turning to Ryuk. He begged the Death God to write their names, and along with the Task Force, Near watched Ryuk intently. Matsuda hadn't bothered to look up, as he held onto Carys for dear life, his tears only now subsiding. He half peeked, but then buried his head back into her shoulder. Carys was rubbing his back soothingly, tears rolling down her own cheeks, and she beckoned Soar over.

Soar, the girl Carys classed as her older sister, slowly moved over to her, wiping the tears from her own eyes.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked in a tearful whisper. Matsuda looked up, and let go of Carys, hugging Soar tightly and sobbing into her shoulder.

Carys stood up, and walked away. She had to get out of there, leaving quietly, unaware of Soar, Angel and Matsuda's stares. She had to cry, and she wasn't crying in there.

As she walked away, she could hear Light's screams about not wanting to die, begging not to die...as far as she was concerned, he deserved it.

The tears blurred her vision as she walked away, into the golden sun; perhaps it was mocking her, she didn't know. She didn't know much then. She only felt numb, and she only kept walking.

Kira was gone.


	15. Mourning

_One Month Later, Winchester, England._

"We are here today, to remember fallen heroes, the people who fought to bring Kira to justice, L included. Today, we're here to celebrate the lives of Mello, Matt and L." Roger sighed, as Near, Soar, Carys and Angel looked at each other, and then to the next generation of successors. Carys was paying no attention; distracting herself best she could. She didn't want to think about Matt, and was thankful when the little service was over. Soar just sighed...this was like a trainwreck. Neither Angel or Near spoke a word.

"I think," Soar mumbled, as Roger finally shut his mouth, before looking out over the children "that was awful. Come on, I want to see Kazuki...Wait, hang on, where's Car?"

"I know where she is," Angel nodded "up on the roof. It's where she smoked."

Soar nodded "I see."

The three of them headed inside, and into the library, where a young boy had his nose in a book. His hair was black and messy, and his eyes were a coal black. He was indeed, his father's double. He smiled slightly at the approaching three "Hello, mother."

Kazuki, the son of L and Soar laid his book down and sat up "Hello, Angel. Near."

"Kazuki..." Soar smiled fondly at her son, biting back the tears in her throat and enveloping him in a tight hug. Kazuki hugged her back even tighter "I missed you, my love."

Angel smiled and leant into Near, who intertwined his fingers with hers and smiled softly. He brushed a gentle kiss upon her forehead, leaning into her "He's L's double."

Angel nodded in agreement "Soar's really missed him."

Near nodded "She would've. Come on, let's leave them be."

Near escorted Angel out of the Library, and upstairs, into their old dorms, and together, they looked around. They'd had so many memories here. Angel could remember when Matt and Mello were across the hall, and Carys used to sneak out to see him, or sneak out onto the roof to smoke. Near could remember when Mello used to burst into his room and taunt him...and he'd just take it.

Everything was untouched and just as they'd left it. Angel wandered into she and Carys' old room and looked around, sitting on the hard bed.

It was surreal.

As Angel looked up, Carys was swinging herself through the window; a scene she remembered from their growing up; except there was no redhead behind her.

"Hey." Carys finally spoke, her voice thick with tears "This is nuts."

"Yeah, it is," Angel replied softly, bowing her head "really fucking weird."

Carys' eyes brightened, and she laughed slightly, even though the tears slipped down her cheeks"Did you just...curse?"

A small smile broke out across Angel's face, as she looked up at her best friend "I believe I did."

They laughed with each other like they were children, for a while, before reality really kicked in again. Angel turned to her friend and took her hand, before biting her lip "You and I both know you're not okay, Car. You're my best friend, you can talk to me you know."

"I know...I'm sorry..." Carys trailed off, squeezing Angel's hand "I just...I miss Matt."

"That's perfectly understandable, Chica. You loved him."

"I know, but he cheated on me a lot, Lovely. So much...and...and I don't know why I loved him...and..." Carys burst into hysterical tears. Angel pulled her friend into her, and hugged her tightly. Angel couldn't quite understand how Carys felt exactly; but she knew her heart was breaking with every breath. She knew Carys missed Matt more with every passing second, and it tore her apart, that she could do nothing.  
Then, inspiration struck.

"Soar's going back to Japan next month. She's taking Kazuki too. Maybe you could go back with her...Matsuda seemed quite attached to you."

Carys shrugged "I don't know, Angel...I don't know if I could go back there."

"Maybe you should, Car. Start a new."

Carys looked out of the window, onto February's frosty grass. The morning haze still hung lazily in the sky; and she sighed out

"Maybe." came her reply "I'll think about it. And Matsuda wasn't attached, he barely knew me."

Angel shook her head. He'd been bombarding Soar with calls and emails, and was only now beginning to stop. Carys shook her head and rolled her eyes, before looking back over at her small dresser "I need to go back to Wonston."

"Will you be okay?"

"Maybe. Yes. No. I don't know. I'll call you when I get there. If I haven't called you by half past eleven, call me. If I don't answer, come round." Carys looked slightly sheepish, before handing Angel a key, attached to a Kingdom Hearts keychain "This was Matt's key. Use that."

And with that, the brunette hugged Angel, before getting up and walking away. Angel heard the roar of the car as it took off and sighed, genuinely worried about her dearest friend.  
She had to speak with Soar, and soon.

–

Turning the key in the lock, and walking into the hall had to be one of the hardest things Carys had ever done. Everything was the same; very dusty, but the same.  
Taking baby steps and breathing slowly, she closed the door and turned the hall light on, making her way into the kitchen. She brushed her hair off her face, stepping into the small kitchen, turning the light on in there, and looking around. Their useless tat, pieces of paper, ashtrays all littered the worktops, beside the silver kettle. His Zelda mug laid untouched on the draining board on the sink, and she could only stare.  
Carys suddenly gripped the worktop, unable to breathe, with an icy cold ripping through her, her hazel eyes stinging with both grief and anguish, her cheeks red from her wails.

Matt was never coming home.

–

Carys hadn't called, and now, Soar and Angel were driving out towards the Jeevas' small cottage in the country. Soar had visited them plenty of times; she knew where she was going.  
Angel however, didn't know what to expect. She half-expected a Hobbit hole in the side of a hill, or a mansion. With those two, anything was possible, but Angel was pleasantly surprised when she laid eyes on Lily Cottage.

"Come on," Soar urged as she swung out of the drivers side "she's just in there."

Angel nodded as Soar took charge, knocking on the door a couple of times with no answer. Carys' car was still there; meaning she was in there somewhere, so Soar took Matt's key from Angel and unlocked the door, cautiously making their way inside. They looked into the dusty living room, where the drinks cabinet was lying open, and a bottle was missing.

"W-what did they usually have there?" Angel asked timidly and Soar shrugged.

"It varied." Soar looked around and saw nothing else had been touched, and began to head into the kitchen, where Soar found Matt's mug smashed against the tiled floor, and a cupboard door lying ajar, a glass missing from it. Carys really was upset, a lot more upset than she'd let on. She sighed, and then turned away "She's upstairs."

Slowly, Angel and Soar ascended the small staircase, and noticed the bedroom door was ajar. Closing her eyes, Soar crept in quietly, and opened them to find Carys asleep on the bed, curled into one of Matt's shirts, and an empty bottle of Jack Daniels hanging from her fingers.  
Soar somehow managed to ignore the tugging on her heart, and bite back the tears in her throat when she saw her, and she heard Angel sniff quietly behind her.

It was obvious that Carys had been crying; the tracks of her tears were still visible on her face. Suddenly, the bottle dropped from her fingers, and banged loudly against the wooden floor. Carys moved and shook her head, before breaking into soft sobs and curling into the shirt more.  
Slowly, her sobs became louder and more pained, and Soar walked over to, in her eyes, her younger sister, and wrapped her arms around her, sitting Carys up as she did so. Matt's shirt was soon dropped, as Carys held onto Soar for dear life, and wailed into her shoulder. Soar simply held her and whispered words of love and sympathy in her ear, holding onto her too, as she too, mourned the death of a lover.  
Angel had her head bowed. They had both suffered a greater loss than she did during Kira's reign, and she knew they should have this time alone, but still, she walked over and enveloped her arms around them. Soar and Carys pulled her into their circle, and they cried together, as three sisters would.  
If anything, their bond had become closer during the whole ordeal, and together, they cried until they couldn't cry any more, and collapsed back onto the bed, and quickly fell fast asleep.

Carys and Soar were the first awake the next morning. Carys was already downstairs and making coffee when Soar wandered down blearily.

"Morning," Carys smiled, handing Soar a mug and sitting down "Thanks...for last night. I'm just a little pussy."

"No, not at all! It's understandable, Car. You lost someone you loved and had no time to mourn. And it's no problem either, you should know that." Soar smirked to herself, before looking up at Carys "How's your head?"

Carys rolled her eyes playfully "It's fine...Look, Soar, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Soar replied, putting her cup down and watching Carys carefully "anything."

"Can..." she trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to ask Soar this question. She nodded to herself and looked up at Soar earnestly "Can I come to Japan with you?"

Soar looked at Carys intently, before sipping her coffee again "Well, yes love, if you want to. But only if you're sure you want to do this, Carys. It's a big step."

"I know," the brunette nodded, gazing out of the window, before turning back to Soar "I want to start again. And don't tell Angel, I'll tell her myself."

–

A couple of days later, Carys met up with Angel at Wammy's, smiling widely when she laid eyes on her best friend. Angel had been a timid, quiet little squirt when Carys first met her, but over the years she'd known her, she'd grown into a beautiful, brave woman, who was indeed, still quiet, but she had a firey streak.

Angel turned around and grinned at Carys, before walking over to her.

"Good morning, Chica." Angel beamed, as she and Carys walked towards Near's empty office "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Actually, I have something to tell you." Carys smiled, but her heart sank a little. She'd miss Angel a lot "Come on, let's go outside. I wanna smoke."

The two girls headed out into the garden, where Carys light up a cigarette and looked around. Angel watched her, before asking "So what did you want to tell me?"

Carys stopped and looked at Angel "I'm going to Japan with Soar. We leave at the end of the month."

"You still have two and a half weeks here," Angel shrugged smiling. She knew what Carys would be worrying about "Don't worry, Chica. You'll be with Soar, remember? You can come back anytime, and I'll come over anytime you want me to. You go out there and have fun, and as for the moment, let's go back to yours and get smashed."

Carys raised an eyebrow "Really?"

"Really. Come on, let's go!"

Carys followed Angel back to her car, dumbstruck. This was...very out of character for Angel, but then she smiled to herself.  
Carys had indeed rubbed off on her over the years, and Carys had never felt prouder.


	16. Release

It was difficult for both Soar and Carys when they stood on the tarmac of Narita airport, where Aizawa met them. Soar nodded towards him curtly, whilst Carys slunk by to the awaiting car, and jumped in the back. She didn't even look up to see who was driving, and quickly strapped herself in, before staring out of the window. Soar and Kazuki slipped in beside her, and Soar looked and smiled softly.

"Hello, Matsu."

Matsuda nodded and smiled "Soar."

Even still, Carys didn't move from staring out of the window, and Soar began to wonder if Carys joining her really had been the best idea. She sighed and shook her head, as Kazuki strapped himself in beside her and peeked over at the brunette, who was still fixated on whatever was outside of her window, and as Aizawa shut his door, Matsuda began to drive, and thusly began the most awkward drive of their lives.  
Finally arriving at the old SPK headquarters, where Near had taken control of the case, Carys jumped out and looked around, biting back the bile rising from her stomach.  
Soar stood beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking around, Kazuki at her heels.

"Where are we, mother?" he questioned her, his eyes wide, and hair wild.  
He looked more like his father than ever.

"This is where Near worked during the Kira case," although tearful, Soar kept her tone calm and collected, as a mother would "A lot of things happened here, not just for the case...but for us too."

Kazuki nodded in acknowledgement , and looked around in wonder.  
Soar turned to Carys, who was just staring at the ground, trembling slightly. The younger girl kept biting back, what Soar assumed, were tears. Carys wasn't one for crying, really, but the past couple of months had really taken their toll on her.  
Tentatively, Carys took Soar's hand, and Soar squeezed it gently as Carys looked up at her.

"I need to go there," Carys whispered, tearfully. Soar nodded and gulped back her own tears when Carys looked up, her expression the most vulnerable Soar had ever seen Carys. Soar noticed Carys' free hand was on her gun holster, and watched as Carys pulled out the gun and held it out to show her "It's not mine. It's...well, you know. I need to go there one last time, and I can let go."

Soar once again nodded, as Carys slipped the gun away again, before the elder girl turned to both Matsuda and Aizawa "Aizawa, could you look after Kazuki for a short while?"

"Of course, Soar." Aizawa nodded, and Kazuki looked up at his mother with those curious eyes again, and Soar knelt down to him.

"There's something Carys and I have to do. If you stay with Mr. Aizawa for a while, I'll be back soon, love." Soar smiled at him and kissed his forehead, as her raven-headed son nodded. She then turned to Matsuda "Could you drive us downtown, Matsu?"

"O-of course."

–

Walking along the cold pavements, this part of Tokyo still seemed quiet. There wasn't nearly as many people as expected, and as Carys finally looked up, she could see the intersection in front of her. Soar glanced down at her, smiling sadly. Matsuda was trailing behind them, watching almost anxiously at what they were doing, and when he too saw the intersection, everything suddenly made sense.  
He hung even farther back, leaving the two women to it.

As they approached the centre of the road, Carys took a deep breath and looked around. His blood had been washed away from the road, and there was no evidence to prove anything had happened here.  
She leant into Soar, who wrapped her arms around her, and pulled her close for a hug. Carys held onto her like there was no tomorrow, and it was as if, all the storms she had been chasing, with Kira, with being back home, and with Matt, were about to rain down at once, drenching her with an ending; with finality that she'd caught them.  
And all the pain she'd been facing had finally come into the light, and she knew when she opened her eyes, she could live again; she could let go and live.

As the sun broke through the cloud, Carys opened her eyes. It was all finally over.

"I think...I'm ready. I can let go now, Soar." her voice was strong and clear, even if she spoke through tears. Soar nodded and hugged her again, feeling better now that Carys had done what she'd intended, and she was ready for this.

"Come on, let's go back." Soar smiled as they broke apart, and began walking back to the car. Matsuda stood, waiting on them and smiled sheepishly as the three walked back to the car. Carys had seemed to have lightened up, looking around in interest, and shotgunning the front seat on the way back. Soar sat quietly in the back. She still had places to go, and she wanted to take Kazuki.

–

Arriving back at the old Headquarters, Carys had wandered off with Matsuda and Aizawa, who would be showing her where she'd be living, and Soar and Kazuki were headed to the old Task Force headquarters, where L had worked from. The building still stood tall and unchanged against the skyline, and Soar took a deep breath as she unlocked the door, and turned the switch for the lighting on.

"Where are we, mother?" Kazuki asked, looking around curiously. Everything seemed clean; like a hospital.

"This is where your father worked on the Kira case." Soar spoke quietly, looking around. Nothing much had changed from when she worked here with him. Soar took her son's hand and led him through the main area of work. L's desk in front of all of those screens laid untouched, as did everything else around them; the only things that were gone, were the papers regarding Kira.  
Kazuki had slipped out of Soar's grip, and was looking at everything around him, clambering up onto L's chair and looking back at his mother. Soar gasped at the similarities. The wild raven hair, the wide eyes, even Kazuki's mannerisms...he truly was his father through and through.

"You wait here," Soar's voice was shaky "I'll be back in a second, love."

Kazuki nodded, and Soar headed off, walking up to where the 'bedrooms' had been. She entered the room, and switched the light on, noticing again, everything lay untouched, but her eyes were drawn to the dresser, where a few photos laid out on the wood. She walked over slowly, picking them up.  
The first photo made her eyes widen and water. It was of the younger successors, when they had barely hit double digits. Matt, Carys and Mello stood together, grinning, Soar herself was in the middle, one arm around Carys' shoulders, and other around Angel's shoulders, and to Angel's left, stood an awkward looking Near.  
She remembered giving this one to L, so he'd know about his successors and what they looked like. The next photo was of their little family, L, Soar and Kazuki, just after Kazuki had been born...before Kira.  
The final photo was of just L and Soar, one of the few photos of them together, and in it, they both looked happy. Soar wiped at her eyes, before opening the drawer to find one of his shirts still there.  
She pulled it out and held it into her chest, sobs ripping through her chest. She had never really cried about it before, but here, and now that it was all over, it seemed right. The damn shirt even still smelt of him a little.  
Picking herself up, and composing herself, she headed back down to Kazuki, the photos still in her hand, and she smiled to find him waiting on her, still on the chair.

"Come here, love. I've got some photos to show you." Soar sat down on the couches, and Kazuki trotted over beside her, sitting himself down, as Soar showed him the group photo "Okay...the redhead there...that's Matt, and the blonde boy beside him is Mello..."

"Is that Carys in front of Matt? You have your arm around her, mother." Soar nodded and Kazuki looked back down at the photo "Is the other girl Angel?"

"Yes, it is, love. And the boy beside her is Near. That's back when they were around your age." she nodded and smiled, before switching to the next photo "Do you know who this man is?"

Kazuki shook his head, and scrunched his nose up "We have the same hair."

"That's your father, love. That's L." Soar spoke quietly again, and could feel a pain in her chest, and her eyes watering. Kazuki looked at his mother, and held onto her, snuggling into his mother. Soar stopped and hugged her son, wiping at her eyes and kissing the mass of black upon his head, realising that a part of L, would always be with her, and she wouldn't have to be so sad anymore.  
And like Carys, Soar could now move on.


	17. Truth

A week or so had passed since Carys had moved into Soar's small house in Tokyo. March seemed to be flying past, and it was almost her twenty first birthday.  
She sighed as she dragged herself out of bed; today was her first day at work. Soar had arranged for her to work within the Japanese police force, but she hadn't told Carys who she was working with, and where she was working.  
After pulling her clothes on in a sleepy haze, she haphazardly made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Soar was already up and about, and handing the younger girl a mug of coffee.

"How'd you sleep?"

"I'm nervous as shit."

"...I see." Soar nodded, and frowned "Don't be so nervous. You'll do fine."

"I don't know..." Carys shrugged, making her way over to the patio doors, where she lit up a cigarette "you know, what if I make a complete prick of myself?"

Soar smiled softly "Somehow, I think you're going to enjoy what you're going to be doing."

Carys raised and eyebrow suspiciously "What do you know...?"

"Now, now, that'd be telling," Soar winked and smiled "Come on now, you're going to be late, miss."

Carys sighed and nodded, finishing and stubbing her cigarette out "I guess."

She walked into the hallway, Soar following her. She smiled as she looked at Carys and remembered back when she was younger.  
All that was missing, was the redhead and the little brunette girl by herself. Seeing Carys without Angel or Matt, was strange, she had to admit.  
When Carys stood to face her, Soar's smile was fond. She really hadn't changed that much.

"Well, I guess it's time to go." Carys didn't sound convinced, and frowned slightly. Soar moved over to her, and hugged her tightly.

"'You're going to be fine love, I promise you." Soar smiled and Carys nodded "You're going to love it. Now, go on. You have work to do."

"Okay...bye, Soar. Love you!" Carys pulled back and grinned, heading out of the door "Give Kazuki a kiss and say bye for me. I'll see you later!"

The door closed over, and Carys was gone. Soar smiled, heading back into the kitchen, when the phone rang. She picked it up, and smiled.

"Well hello, you."

"Hi, Soar! How are you!? How's my favourite nephew?!" Angel's excited voice came through the phone, and Soar smiled. You really couldn't have one without the other.

"I'm good, and Kazuki's good too. How are things at your end?" Soar sat down, brushing her auburn hair out of her face. She'd always wanted normalcy, and she supposed this was as close as she'd get to it, but it didn't seem right without him. Nothing had really felt right, but she had Kazuki...and that was all Soar needed. She had his son.

"I'm good, Nate's been busy, but that's about it, really. How's Carys settling. Has she started yet?"

"She started today, she just left, actually," Soar giggled "I haven't told her she's working in homicide, and with Matsu though."

"Soar, that's terrible!" Angel giggled "You'll have her freaking out!"

"Well, she was. It was amusing...slightly."

They spoke for a good hour before they had to say their goodbyes. Angel was planning a visit soon, and this had put Soar in an even better mood. She smiled, standing up and moving over to check her mobile phone. She had a text, and she opened it, to see it had been from Carys.

homicide!? I couldn't be happier, but...you didn't tell me about matsu. bitch. xx

Soar snickered. Things could get interesting.

–

Carys was looking around the busy police department, trying to find her partner. She hadn't seen him since she'd arrived, and now she was beginning to get really nervous.  
She was then suddenly aware of someone rushing towards her with two cups of coffee in his hands, and she blinked.

"Soar said you liked mochas..." Matsuda handed her the cup with a smile, and she blushed slightly as she took the steaming beverage from his hand.

"T-thank you," Carys whispered "So...where do we begin."

"I'll show you around and then I'll show you your office."

She nodded and followed Matsuda around, as he pointed out various rooms, people and things, before finally showing her to her own office.  
"This is yours, to do as you want with it. I'm just next door if you need me."

"What am I doing, work-wise?" she asked, looking around before sitting down in front of the computer. He sat down in the chair opposite and thought for a second.

"Uh..I...I'm not sure...we're not too busy right now, y'know, after Kira and stuff. We just wait around until we get cases, really..."

Carys nodded "I see..."

"I uh...I'll let you get settled in..." and with that, Matsuda rushed off again with a tint of pink of his cheeks. Carys simply blinked as the door swung closed after him.  
He was certainly something else.

She settled into her chair and sipped her coffee, shaking her head. Today was going to be a long day.

–  
When she arrived home from what a felt like a painfully long day, she opened the door to find Soar smiling, and Kazuki standing on the staircase. Carys waved up to him, and he waved back, a small smile on his face.  
He wasn't all like L. Kazuki seemed to have emotions.

"Hey, you," she smiled up at the boy "How was your day?"

"It wasn't too bad. How was your first day at the department, Carys? I heard you were in homicide."

Okay, he did have some of his father's traits, and he was very smart, but Carys couldn't help but love him. He was adorable.

"It was pretty good," Carys nodded, smiling up at him. Kazuki returned a small smile, before heading upstairs "Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight, Carys. Goodnight Mother, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Sweet dreams."

Carys smiled widely, before turning to follow Soar into the kitchen. She'd just made coffee, and sat at the table, whilst Carys smoked out the back door.

"I need to talk to you." Carys stiffened. She knew that tone in Soar's voice, and suddenly felt like a little girl in trouble.

"About?" the younger girl whispered, scratching her head nervously. Soar let out a long sigh, and turned to face her.

"The murder of Bethany Williams."

Carys' eyes widened in shock. How did she know about that!?  
Her throat suddenly became dry, and she felt her skin redden. When it came to Soar, Carys was a pathetic liar. There was something in that tone of voice that made Carys nervous.  
"W-who?" Carys managed to cough out, avoiding Soar's eyes. The older girl's eyes softened, and she bit her lip. She could tell Carys was avoiding the situation...but why?

"You're not in trouble," Soar smiled softly "That's all taken care of...but who is she? Did you just murder a random person, or was there a motive, Car?"

"She was my mother." Carys grumbled out, hugging her knees. Soar's eyes widened; Carys knew her mother? Carys' eyes darkened, and she glared down at the floor, trying to figure out how to explain herself "After Matt and I left Wammy's, and got all sorted, I hacked into Roger's computer, and read my own files. I wondered what could be nastiness Roger could've added after we ran, but I guess I got even more of a shock."

"You...You and Matt hacked into Roger's computer!?" Soar exclaimed, eyes wide with shock "But...how...?"

"Matt and I were very good hackers. Wammy's House taught us the skills and I merely used those skills. I wasn't expecting it to be so easy, to be honest."

"For the love of...Car! That's bad! You can't just _hack_ the Wammy's computers!"

"Wammy's taught us the skills, Soar."

Soar shook her head, sighed and took a sip of her coffee. There was no point in arguing; Carys was right on this one.

"Anyway, yeah...Apparently my mother came forward when I was around...what? I was three when she dumped me, apparently, and I was three and a half when I came to Wammy's, so I would've been around six. She asked around the children's homes in Wales, checked all their registers...but thankfully, she never found me. She was a call girl. She worked the streets of Cardiff, partook in heroin binges after she got rid of me...and yeah..."

Soar could only stare. Her previous admission to hacking into the computers was terrible, but what she'd discovered in her files was even worse.

"She just dumped me, Soar. Left me for dead." Carys sounded more sad than angry now, and she seemed to hug her knees even more "and then there was more than that...and it was even worse..."

Soar just looked down at Carys, and before she could get up to hug her, Carys said something that made even Soar prickle with a cold fear.

"Tell me about Birthday."


	18. Birthday

Soar visibly stiffened at the name, before looking back down at Carys, the younger girl looking back at her with sullen eyes. Soar took a breath, and began to explain.

"Beyond Birthday...B. He was one of the first successors to L, along with A and myself. He was...he was different. No one knew anything about him, where he came from, who he truly was...but he bore a striking resemblance to L. Almost a carbon copy of him, but B was different. Do you remember him?" Soar approached the subject tentatively, caution would be needed around this subject.

"I didn't..but after the stand off...I heard someone, and I've been having nightmares." Carys whispered, looking away "When Kira laughed...it wasn't Kira. It was someone else."

Soar couldn't help but let her jaw drop a little, as Carys nodded for her to go on. Regaining her composure, Soar went on "He...he chose a different path. He wanted to be L's rival, and he too, deemed he needed a successor, and he...he picked you. You were five years old when he selected you, and begun to train you."

Carys hiccuped in shock. She never could remember much between the ages of five and nine. Everything seemed to be blank between those ages, save birthdays and a couple of other special occasions, and now, hearing Soar's story seemed to help add a few small details up. Her files hadn't gone into this; her files had just mentioned him.

"He'd take you away, occasionally during the day; more often than not, at night. Oh Car..." Soar could feel the lump in her throat "He was brutal...he taught you brutality. It came out into the open after his disappearance, when you were nine, and Roger thought it best never to talk of this, or tell you. He, and L thought they could shield you from the truth...but...but I think it's time you knew."

Carys lifted her head to look at Soar, who was almost sobbing and shaking her head. Her blood ran cold as she looked at Soar, and her heart sank, before she finally nodded "Tell me."

"He abused you. Physically, mentally and..." It took Soar a couple of minutes to compose herself and nod. She didn't have to say the last one "He taught you to kill, without leaving a trace of evidence. He taught you not to differentiate between the ones you love and everyone else...just to kill. When Roger found you the morning Birthday left, you were covered in blood and bruises. He'd beaten you unconscious, and he...he violated you."

Carys stared wide-eyed, and Soar couldn't help the tears falling from her eyes "They wouldn't let me help you, Car...they wouldn't let me get involved, said it was between L, Quillish and Roger. I never knew much else, what I've told is you, is everything L told me."

Something then snapped inside of Carys, and a thousand unwanted memories washed over her like a bloody tidal wave. She remembered blood, for the most part.

All the colour drained from her whole body instantly, and she simply stared at her hands.

"S-Soar..." she whispered hoarsely, and Soar nodded, her mismatched eyes glassy with tears "I...I need to go lie down."

And Carys was up and on her way upstairs, leaving a worried Soar to stare after her.

–

Carys stared up at the ceiling, her room in total darkness, trying to still take in everything she'd heard tonight, and the memories that came flooding back to her.

"_You'll make for a fine successor once your training is complete, young Carys. A fine successor indeed."_

She rubbed her forehead, trying to make Birthday's voice somehow leave her head.

"_I will return to you one day, to complete your training. You're almost there...almost, but I have to leave."_

Suddenly, she felt an aching on one side of her head, as if she'd been hit with something. She then realized those were his last words before he left, and Soar said they found her unconscious..

"I'm a monster..." she whispered silently to herself, her eyes filling with tears. His laugh echoed in her head, and she moved her pillow over her face, and sobbed into it, until she finally fell into a disturbed sleep.

She awoke the next morning, feeling more refreshed than she'd expected, and she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, half-glancing at the calender. Her birthday was coming up.

She'd be 20 next Thursday.

Matt would've been 20 on the first of February.

She sighed, made her coffee and sat on the back step, cigarette in her hand. She didn't hear Kazuki walk up behind her, and didn't notice until he was sat beside her.

"Morning, Kazuki," she ruffled his hair and he smiled "How are you today?"

"I'm very well, and yourself, Carys?" he smiled up at her "I see it's your birthday next week, and I'd like to get you a gift. What sort of things do you like?"

"I'm good, thank you," she smiled warmly at his small gesture "Well...I like reading, I guess."

"What sort of books?"

"Well...I've always wanted to read Harry Potter, as childish as that may sound."

"They're very good."

"Well, there you go," she gave him a hug as he stood up. She finished her cigarette and followed him inside, giving him another hug "Have a good day at school. Love you, kiddo."

"Same to you. Goodbye, Carys. Goodbye, Mother."

And as the door closed, Kazuki was gone. Soar entered the kitchen and sat at the table, Carys sitting opposite her "How are you?"

Carys smiled "I'm fine. Kazuki was just asking what I wanted for my birthday."

"Oh? What'd you say?" Soar smiled, yet she still worried about Carys. She looked tired, but she seemed herself otherwise...

"I asked for Harry Potter books." Carys blushed, standing up "Anyway, I gotta go..."

"Car...are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine...I'll be fine," she looked down at her hands "I just...things kind of make sense now."

"I love you. You're like my little sister; you and Angel," Soar hugged Carys tightly "I'm here for you."

Carys hugged her back even tighter "I know. Same goes for the both of you too. I'll be fine, I promise."

They pulled apart, Carys smiling, before heading out of the door.

"See you at work, Soar."

–

As she sat in front of her computer, in her office, the quiet was beginning to get the better of her and her mind was beginning to wander.

Some of the things Soar had told her were a little much to take in, and as painful fragments of her memories flashed through in her head, she bit back the urge to cry.

She rested her head on her desk, her hands gripping onto clumps of her hair as she tried not to cry. She peeked up from the desk and let go of her hair as the door opened, and she blinked to find Matsuda looking down at her, with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, sitting up "I'm just tired."

"Alright then..." he smiled down at her, before handing her a coffee "Good job I brought you this then."

She grinned as she took the coffee from him "You are an absolute angel, Matsu, you really are."

He flushed pink and grinned "Well, I try..."

"Well, you're doing awesome!" she blushed slightly as her grin widened. Matsuda clumsily excused himself, almost tripping down the hall, and the blush still on his face. Soar passed him, an eyebrow raised as he grinned sheepishly.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an amused tone, her eyebrow still arched. Matsuda couldn't look her in the eye.

"I...uh...I was giving C-Carys coffee..." he mumbled, his blush deepening. Soar giggled and shook her head.

"It's cute, you really have taken a shine to her." Soar smiled "You should ask her out for lunch or something."

"N-no," Matsuda stuttered, running off "she'd totally say no."

Soar giggled as he ran off. She shook her head again and smiled softly; she'd need to ask Carys what she thought of him.

She entered her small office, and sat down on the chair, before her phone rang. She picked it up "Hello?"

"Soar, it's me," Angel's voice came from down the line "It's Car's birthday next week and I don't know what to get her!"

"Well...you're asking the wrong person," Soar chuckled "She's mentioned books to Kazuki, Harry Potter to be exact, but I know she's been eyeing up the Song of Ice and Fire series, so I'm not sure..."

Matsuda stood listening at the door, he too, looking for ideas. He bit his thumbnail in thought. He could get her the Song of Ice and Fire series...

As Soar ended her conversation, Matsuda stepped into the office.

"I'm getting her that fire, ice series...thing..." he nodded confidently, and Soar looked at him amused "I want to get her something."

"I thought you'd go for cheesy red roses, personally," Soar giggled, and Matsuda blushed in embarrassment "okay, cool...You get her the Song of Fire and Ice series...and I want to be there when you give her them, I want to see her face. Now, on you trot, Matsu, you have things to do."


End file.
